Bhubaneswar : The glamour quotient had mixed results in the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections this year. The big winner among stars is Odia actor and Kendrapara Lok Sabha candidate Anubhav Mohanty who is about to defeat seasoned politician Baijayant Panda of the BJP who, when last reports came in, was trailing by a margin of around 1,30,000 votes. votes.
Going by trends so far, the long-standing Parliamentarian from Kendrapara is behind BJD’s actor-turned-politician Anubhav Mohanty.
The battle for Kendrapara is one of the most crucial in the state considering that it was a fight between BJD president and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, and his estranged friend Baijayant Panda.
Before the election Panda was expected to be the winner as he had represented Kendrapara in the 15th Lok Sabha as a BJD MP. He had been to Parliament from Odisha several times before that.
Panda also had the support of film actors like Babushan Mohanty who, while campaigning for Panda, declared him as the real hero.
But Anubhav Mohanty derailed all speculations and has won a handsome lead. Political experts say that the support for Naveen Patnaik in Kendrapara helped the actor to win. Former Odisha CM Biju Patnaik was elected to the Lok Sabha thrice, in 1977, 1980 and 1984 from this seat.
Unfortunately, other actors didn’t have the same luck. Veteran Odia actor Aparajita Mohanty is facing a second defeat. In 2014, she was defeated in Cuttack Parliamentary constituency by BJD’s Bhartuhari Mahatab.
This year she contested on a BJP ticket from Bhubaneswar (North) Assembly constituency. She is on the verge of defeat as she was trailing by over 26,000 votes against Sushant Kumar Rout of the BJD.
Another actor, Pinky Pradhan, who contested from Digapahandi Assembly constituency on a BJP ticket is trailing by 40,000 votes against BJD candidate Surjya Narayan Patro.
This year many stars of past elections like Siddhanta Manmohan Mahapatra, the Berhampur MP, and Akash Das Nayak, the MLA of Kopri, were denied tickets.
Mahapatra had defeated Congress heavyweight and former Union minister Chandra Sekhar Sahu twice in the 2009 and 2014 Lok Sabha polls.
