May 18th 2024.
Bhubaneswar, the capital city of Odisha, was buzzing with political activities as the high-pitched campaigning came to an end on Saturday. The state is all set to conduct elections for five Lok Sabha seats and 35 Assembly constituencies on May 20. The second round of simultaneous elections in the state will see some prominent candidates, including BJD president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, in the fray.
Along with Patnaik, his colleagues in the state government such as Bikram Keshari Arukha, Niranjan Pujari, PK Amat, Tukuni Sahu, Rita Sahu, and SP Nayak are also contesting in this round of elections. The opposition BJP has also fielded noteworthy candidates, including ex-union minister and current MP of Sundargarh, Jual Oram, former Indian hockey captain Dilip Tirkey, former union minister and hotelier Dilip Ray, and four-time Lok Sabha MP Sangeeta Singh Deo.
Patnaik, who is seeking re-election from his home turf Hinjili, is also contesting from the Kantabanji Assembly segment under the Bolangir Lok Sabha seat this time. In total, there are 40 candidates competing for Aska, Kandhamal, Bolangir, Bargarh, and Sundargarh Lok Sabha seats, while 265 candidates are contesting for the 35 Assembly constituencies. The state has a total of 79.62 lakh eligible voters who will exercise their franchise on May 20.
In the last Lok Sabha elections, BJD had won two seats while the BJP had won three. This round of campaigning witnessed heavyweights from both the ruling BJD and opposition BJP and Congress canvassing for their respective candidates. Prominent leaders who were seen campaigning included Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP president JP Nadda, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, and its leader Rahul Gandhi. Chief Ministers from other states like Assam's Himanta Biswa Sarma, Chhattisgarh's Vishnu Dev Sai, and Tripura's ex-CM Biplab Kumar Deb also hit the campaign trail.
The campaigning saw a lot of personal attacks by political leaders from all parties, while crucial issues like price rise and under-development took a back seat. On the last day of campaigning, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw campaigned for BJP's Jual Oram in Bonai, while BJP MP and actress Hema Malini canvassed for party candidates in Angul, Pallahara, and Deogarh under the Sambalpur Lok Sabha seat. From the Congress party, former union minister Sachin Pilot was seen campaigning for the party candidate in the Balasore Lok Sabha seat. Patnaik and his aide Kartik Pandian also held whirlwind campaigning across the state for BJD.
This phase of campaigning was particularly intense as the BJP made efforts to retain Bargarh, Bolangir, and Sundargarh Lok Sabha seats. However, the campaign in Aska Lok Sabha constituency was partially disrupted due to poll violence, which resulted in the death of a BJP worker in Ganjam district, the home district of the Chief Minister. To ensure a peaceful election, 22 companies of central armed police forces were deployed in the district. With the campaigning coming to an end, the people of Odisha are now eagerly waiting for May 20 to cast their votes and decide the fate of their leaders.
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