Berhampur: Even as general election drew closer, Kalyani Gajapati, the princess of Parala, ended suspense over her political career. She had recently joined a merger ceremony organised by the BJD at Naveen Niwas in Bhubaneswar.
Analysts said her joining in the BJD could usher in a change in the political equation of the BJD in the high-profile Berhampur Lok Sabha constituency.
Given this situation, she could be the ruling party’s MP nominee for Berhampur LS seat. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has been pitching for 33 per cent reservation for women.
Political observers infer that the BJD should favour her for an LS seat.
She is the granddaughter of late Paralakhemundi Maharaj Krushnachandra Gajapati, one of the architects of special Odisha province. Maharaj Krushnachandra Gajapati was the first Prime Minister of Odisha formed on the basis of the language.
After several years, his son and incumbent Parala king Gopinath Gajapati had taken a plunge in politics. He was elected as MP from this sea on a Congress ticket in 1989. He was also elected as MP for the second time in 1991. He had defeated his rival Suryanarayan Patro (erstwhile Janata Dal) twice.
In 1996, Gajapati was denied a Congress ticket while former Prime Minister PV Narisingh Rao was elected as MP from the seat, because Berhampur has a sizeable Telugu-speaking population.
In 1998, Congress again denied a ticket to Gajapati while Jayanti Patnaik was given a chance to contest election instead. In the same year, Gajapati deserted Congress for the BJP. He was defeated as a BJP nominee.
Though he had joined BJD well ahead of 2009 elections, he was not given a chance to contest elections. He has been ailing for the last few years. The state government has arranged his treatment.
After a long hiatus, a royal scion is expected to plunge in electoral politics. Since childhood, Kalyani was educated in Madras and Bangalore. Since her father is not keeping well, she was bound to come back to Parala. People of Parala harbor affection for her.
Speculation is rife that if she is not fielded as an MP, she could be the MLA candidate for the BJD. But, most observers see her as an MP candidate.
However, MP Sidhant Mohapatra, who has been elected twice from the seat, has not given up hopes for a BJD ticket for the third time.
The political future of former Union minister Chandra Sekhar Sahu is under cloud. Last year, Sahu had deserted the Congress and joined the BJD. When he joined the BJD, political grapevines were abuzz that he could be chosen as an MP nominee.
Another hopeful for a BJD ticket is Ramachandra Panda, the member of the state planning board. He had switched from saffron to the BJD.
After 20 years, a royal scion has taken a plunge into politics in the southern LS seat, analysts said.
PNN
