Gunupur: The high voltage campaign for the Gunupur Assembly seat going to the polls April 11 concluded Tuesday. The main contest will be between independent candidate Trinath Gamango, BJD candidate Raghunath Gamango and Congress candidate Purusottam Gamango.
The campaigning by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has boosted the spirits of the BJD candidate and party workers in the constituency.
Independent candidate Trinath Gamango conducted a show of strength by organising a massive rally Tuesday. Trinath is the incumbent MLA and a former leader of the BJD. He left the party and is contesting as an independent after he was refused a ticket by the BJD.
The Congress has again fielded Purusottam while the BJD has picked up a new face.
Political observers said there will be a tough fight between Raghunath, Trinath and Purusottam. It is believed that BJD votes will get divided between Trinath and Ragunath.
Trinath defeated Congress leader Pursottam by 7,386 votes in 2014. But in the last panchayat election, the BJD had fared badly and got only one seat out of eight in the Zilla Parishad. However, the BJD is confident of winning the Assembly seat.
Trinath has decided to fight the polls by campaigning against the BJD. He played a major role in winning the seat for the BJD in 2014. This year the campaign for former BJD candidate Trinath is led by NAC Chairperson Siva Prasad Gouda.
This year, he is contesting as an independent candidate Trinath and is considered a strong opponent by both the BJD and the Congress.
The Congress may be able to get some dividends if it manages to garner votes in some ZP seats where the BJD fared badly in the last panchayat election. It remains to be seen who will win this seat.
