Bhubaneswar: Even though there is an undercurrent in favour of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state due to the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the party is unlikely to take its advantage on the prestigious Cuttack Lok Sabha seat because of the wrong choice of candidate which is being disapproved by the people.
The party, which had considered at least three important names for the seat including that of renowned gynaecologist Dr Purna Chandra Mahapatra and young and Senior Advocate Sabyasachi Mohapatra, finally fielded Biju Janata Dal (BJD) turncoat Bhartruhari Mahtab creating a wave of resentment. The party has tried to pacify the supporters of Dr. Mohapatra by giving him ticket from the Barabati-Cuttack assembly seat.
However, the damage has been done as Mahtab, who has represented the seat six times in the past, joined the BJD at the last moment after realizing that BJD was unlikely to field him again from Cuttack. The Naveen Patnaik-led party punished him because of his non-performance which had dented the regional party’s image in the constituency. He had also been making statements which were not appreciated by the BJD leadership, especially chief minister Naveen Patnaik.
In sharp contrast the BJD has fielded Dr. Santrupta Mishra, a corporate honcho with an enviable track record. The people have already accepted him as a sincere leader who has a vision for the development of this constituency which is considered the political barometer of the state. He has been visiting different areas of the constituency and meeting the voters personally to know about their problems, something Mahtab never did in the past. He has been relying solely on his so-called intellectual image and the resources of his party.
As campaigning picks up Dr. Santrupta Mishra, who was with the Aditya Birla group before taking the political plunge and joining the BJD, is being tipped as the favourite in this battle because of several factor, the most important of them being the fact that he has entered politics with a clean slate. While his track record in the corporate world remains enviable his sincerity has also impressed people. An equally important factor is people’s realization that he has a vision for the development of the constituency and his team is already working towards that goal irrespective of the outcome of the battle.
On the other hand the BJP seems to have shot itself in the foot by hitching its wagon to a jaded leader like Bhartruhari Mahtab who had won the past elections solely because of people’s faith in his old party, the Biju Janata Dal and its supreme leader chief minister Naveen Patnaik. There is mounting anger against him because he has never made a sincere attempt to solve the myriad problems of Cuttack city or other parts of the constituency.
Political analysts believe that BJP could have easily won this prestigious seat this time because of a state-wide undercurrent in favour of the saffron party and the rising popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. But it has committed virtual hara-kiri by choosing the wrong candidate and already conceded the seat to the BJD.
