Bhubaneswar: The contest in Ghasipura, the most important assembly constituency in Keonjhar district, has come alive with sitting Khandapada MLA Soumya Ranjan Patnaik filing his nomination papers for the seat as an Independent candidate.
Patnaik, a media baron who enjoys the image of an intellectual, filed his papers as nearly 20,000 supporters cheered him on. Contesting on the development plank he will be challenging sitting MLA and former minister Badri Patra who is the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) candidate on the seat.
The enthusiasm among the local people over the candidature of Patnaik, a fearless crusader for truth, was evident as he went to the Anandapur sub-collector’s office in a rally to submit his papers after offering prayers at the famous Maa Tarini temple in Ghatagaon. The leader, who taught at the Banaras Hindu University before spending time in research at the Oxford university, made his agenda clear while speaking to media-persons after filing his nomination papers.
“Ghasipura has remained neglected in all aspects for a long time. The local people had approached me with the request to address their outstanding issues several times. I want to highlight their problems before the government as an MLA,” he said, adding that he decided to contest the seat on the request of the voters of the area.
Patnaik’s choice to throw his hat into the ring as an independent also holds significance as this is indicative of his desire to be seen as a non-partisan person whose sole inspiration for entering the electoral ring in Ghasipura is to try and develop the area. After he parted ways with the BJD he had reportedly been approached by the BJP to contest the seat. Had he contested as a BJP candidate he would have enjoyed the advantage of using the resources of the party but he decided to strike out on his own to protect his neutral image.
By all indications Ghasipura, which has remained neglected for a long time despite being represented by BJD candidate Badri Patra several times, is craving for a change. Patra has failed to develop the areas and ensure even basic civic amenities throughout the constituency despite enjoying sizeable clout in the government of which he was a part also as a minister.
But instead of collecting accolades for his work for the constituency he has earned the wrath of the local people for getting embroiled in controversies. On the eve of 2019 elections the constituency had seen the murder of a prominent local leader Ramachandra Behera. The BJP had then pointed accusing fingers at Patra though he denied the charge claiming that it was an attempt to tarnish his image.
But there was no denying that it was a political murder as 60-year-old Behera who had contested the Assembly poll in 2014 from the constituency as an Independent was supposed to join BJD the day after he was hacked to death. Behera’s family members had said that criminals had unleashed a reign of terror in the constituency.
Patra was evidently unable to tackle rising crime in Ghasipura with his own sons often courting controversies. While crime continues to spiral in the constituency it also lacks development which will be the most important issue before the electorate this time. Patnaik, whose elder brother Niranjan Patnaik has contested the seat several times in the past, enjoys a distinct advantage over his rival. He is entering the fray in Ghasipura with a clean slate with people yet to test him. Given his profile and the clout he enjoys as a media baron he is certain to be trusted by the electorate much more than his rival who looks jaded.
