Having failed to retain the Balasore seat in the bypoll in November 2020, which was held following the death of MLA Madan Mohan Duttathe BJP is desperate to retain Dhamnagar. Party general secretary and Odisha in-charge Sunil Bansal is closely monitoring the situation at the micro-level. For the BJD, Naveen himself may campaign in the run-up to the election. The party has assigned a senior leader each for two-three booths.
The BJP has been trying to draw sympathy votes, having fielded Suraj Suryabanshi, son of Bishnu Charan Sethi whose death necessitated the bypoll. Besides, it is banking on Rajendra Kumar Das – who as a BJD candidate had lost the 2019 assembly poll against Sethi by a narrow margin of 4625 votes and is now contesting as an independent after he was denied a ticket by the BJD. Any number of votes he polls could hit the BJD’s numbers.
State BJP president Samir Mohanty said people’s response to the BJP has been phenomenal in Dhamnagar, whose outcome may prove to be a turning point.
The BJD is trying to maintain its track record of never having lost a byelection since 2009. The party has fielded Abanti Das, the chairperson of Tihidi block who is associated with self-help groups, Naveen’s loyal vote bank.
If Abanti wins, the BJD will be successful in sending messages to its own aspiring leaders, political rivals and people at large. Firstly, the party which talks of women reservation in politics can continue giving prominence to self-help groups, a move which started with Pramila Bisoyi’s victory in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and secondly, rebels can’t erode BJD votes.Revenue and disaster management minister and senior BJD leader Pramila Mallik exuded confidence the BJD will win by a comfortable margin of 25,000 to 30,000 votes. “Our party is working for the people. They will not vote for another party or an independent candidate,” she said.
Political analysts feel a keen contest is on the cards. “The byelection results have general gone in favour of the ruling party in the past. The BJD continues to have that advantage though it may become a keenly fought contest,” said Gyana Ranjan Swain, a political science teacher.