Bolangir: Electioneering has started in Bolangir Lok Sabha constituency where polls are going to be held in the second phase.
All the three major parties – the BJD, the BJP and the Congress have launched their campaigning and are trying to reach out to the voters.
The candidates are presenting a long list of promises to the voters like previous elections.
The BJD has fielded the incumbent MP Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo as its candidate, while Sangeeta Kumari Singh Deo is the BJP candidate. Samarendra Mishra is the candidate from Congress. This correspondent moved around the constituency to get the pulse of the voters about the candidates contesting from the three major parties.
Kalikesh and Samarendra have intensified their campaigning by putting up banners and posters in the constituency while the Sangeeta is yet to put up any publicity material in her constituency.
This correspondent Monday visited some villages and tried to gauge the feelings of the residents about the parties and their candidates.
What they told during the discussions is that there is every possibility the contest will be primarily between the BJD and the BJP in this election.
Many of them said that the BJD government has failed to make available the benefits of KALIA Scheme to all beneficiaries. They said many farmers are yet to get benefits of the scheme.
BJD candidate Kalikesh Monday visited Kalibhana, Ankariapadar, Bahalpadar villages under Loisingha Assembly seat for campaigning.
When asked about whom he will vote for, Bhuban Bhoi, a casual labourer of Kalibhana village, said a major chunk of the population in the village has not received the KALIA assistance. The people who have received the KALIA assistance have also received Rs 2,000 assistance under the PM Kishan Yojana, he said.
Bhoi questioned why they will vote for the BJD when they have not received that KALIA assistance. This correspondent was discussing with Bhoi when Kalikesh reached the village to attend a meeting. Kalikesh was found trying to placate the irate villagers while addressing the meeting. While trying to calm down the villagers, the MP said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was responsible for the delay in providing KALIA assistance to all beneficiaries.
Kalikesh after attending the meeting left for Ankariapadar village under the same Assembly seat to interact with the villagers.
There he was found in a similar situation, placating the villagers deprived of the KALIA assistance. He assured them that the beneficiaries deprived of KALIA assistance will receive their money after the Naveen Patnaik government returns to power in the state.
Many elderly persons and young voters were found dissatisfied with the ruling party over the disbursement of KALIA assistance.
A woman voter Padmini Bag said less than half of the people in the village have received their money under the KALIA scheme. The power supply to the village is yet to be completed while the women self-help groups have been deprived of assistance.
The resentment over KALIA assistance was similarly found among the residents in Bahalpadar village. There are Kalikesh tried his best to placate the disgruntled villagers deprived of the benefits. Many young voters in this village were found attracted towards the BJP. Over half of the voters, wishing anonymity, said that they have decided to vote for the saffron party. Kalikesh has attended two meetings in this village where over 200 families reside.
The distance between the two meeting places was less than 50 meters which is indicative of the fissures in the BJD cadres, the villagers said. The people in these three villages tried to keep mum when questioned again that whom they will vote for in the next election.
Later, this correspondent reached Bubel village and held discussions with the people whom he found dissatisfied with the non-payment of KALIA assistance.
This correspondent tried to enquire whom the villagers, who have been deprived of KALIA assistance, will vote for but found none of them willing to speak their mind.
When contacted, a former sarpanch of Bubel village said there is a strong undercurrent of resentment against the BJD candidates in the state. The villagers who have been deprived of KALIA assistance are in search of an alternative but with hardly 16 days left for the elections the BJP and Congress candidates are yet to reach disgruntled voters and cash in on their dissatisfaction against the ruling party. As a result, people in the absence of any alternative have failed to turn away from the BJD even as they do not like to vote for them.
The Congress candidate Narasingha Mishra in the Bolangir Assembly segment enjoys enormous clout in the area. His son Samrendra is the Congress candidate for the LS seat but he might not get much success in this election, locals said. Many of the young voters in Bolangir town were found attracted towards the BJP. Thus, the candidate and parties which will be able to reach out to the disgruntled voters deprived of KALIA assistance will be able to win the election.
PNN