Jajpur: Voters of Binjharpur Assembly seat (reserved for SC) in this district are looking for a change. The people here have tried to draw the attention of the government and the Election Commission of India to change the status of the seat, without much success. This seat is now held by BJD’s Pramila Mallick.
Binjharpur is considered an important seat in political circles. The basic problems here are safe drinking water, education and healthcare services.
Irregularities in drainage, water works and housing schemes and protection provided to officials involved in scams have tarnished the image of this constituency.
The public here have lost all hope in the leaders here, and are looking for an alternative.
This Assembly seat covers the whole of Binjharpur block and 12 panchayats of Dasarathpur block.
This seat has six ZP zones of which the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) won four and the BJP two seats in 2017 Zilla Parishad elections.
Binjharpur has 2,12,429 voters, of which male voters number 1,11,807 while female voters account for 1,00,608 and there are 14 other voters.
The BJD’s Pramila Mallick won from this seat in the last four elections. The people here have alleged that under pressure from the BJD, officials sanctioned five to six houses of rural housing schemes and the Biju Pucca Ghar Yojana to some families violating guidelines.
Official sources said that around 22,000 houses have been built under the Centre’s Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and the state sponsored Biju Pucca Ghar Yojana in this constituency over last 18 years. But the reality is something else as there is no trace of 70 per cent of the houses built.
A probe has been ordered into the irregularities, but politicos and officials have managed to suppress it.
This has led to resentment against the present political leadership in this constituency, with voters changing over to the BJP and the Congress.
Pramila first won from this seat in 1990 on a Janata Dal ticket while the Congress’s Arjun Das won this seat in 1995. Pramila has been winning this seat from 2000 as a BJD candidate.
Roads here need improvement and around 50 per cent of the road works have not been completed. Hundreds of check-dams built to provide water to farmlands are dysfunctional.
But Pramila claims that a lot of development has taken place in the constituency. Pramila, the lone hopeful from the BJD, claims the people have been supporting her for three decades, and would continue to do so.
The BJP is trying to use the corruption issue against the BJD and hopes to win around 70 per cent of voters who are slowly turning away from the BJD.
Babita Mallick and Amiya Mallick are the two ticket hopefuls from the BJP. Babita contested on a Congress ticket and came second in 2014. She joined the BJP after the panchayat elections, and hopes the party will give her the ticket.
The BJP had come third in 2014, but with the winds of change blowing here she hopes to win if given the ticket.
The other hopeful, Amiya Mallick, said he will go by the decision of the leadership.
Babita said the much hyped KALIA scheme will create trouble for the BJD.
Manoranjan Das and Kanaklata Mallick, the secretary of the state women’s Congress, are the two hopefuls from the Congress.
Manoranjan said he will definitely get the party ticket and win the seat as public support is growing for him. He has prepared a plan to cash in on the resentment of the people against the BJD.
Kanaklata said she is hopeful of getting the party ticket, but will support any candidate fielded by her party.
Election results 2014
Pramila Mallick (BJD) -74,532
Babita Mallick (Congress)-36,342
Debaprasad Mallick (BJP)-15,358
Election results 2009
Pramila Mallick (BJD) – 66,507
Babita Mallick (Congress) – 34,646
PNN
