Odisha leaders in Kandhamal focus on voters than dussehra

Odisha Channel Bureau Bhubaneswar/Phulbani, Oct 1: Hundreds of leaders, particularly belonging to the three major parties vying for the Kandhamal Lok Sabha seat, are now busy seeking voters’ support than celebrating Durga Puja festival that was being celebrated by millions of people across Odisha.Although the by-poll in Kandhamal Lok Sabha constituency is scheduled to be held on October 15, the leaders of the ruling Biju Janata Dal and opposition Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party have started camping in the seven Assembly segments under Kandhamal.The constituency covers the whole of Kandhamal district and four Assembly segments in Boudh, Nayagarh and Ganjam districts.While BJD and BJP had already started their campaign, the Congress on Wednesday launched its campaign in a formal way in the constituency. The senior leaders of Congress led by Pradesh Congress president Jayadev Jena, senior leaders of BJP led by Bijoy Mohapatra and many BJD Ministers and leaders are now going round the Kandhamal constituency to garner votes for their party nominees.Almost all the senior leaders of BJD, Congress and BJP have already started camping in Kandhamal barring Chief Minister and BJD president Naveen Patnaik.Patnaik was likely to campaign for BJD nominee Pratyusha Rajeswari Singh, widow of late former BJD MP of Kandhamal Hemendra Chandra Singh, in the near future.Though the BJD has been facing criticism in the recent months in the wake of the land scam and CBI probe into chit fund scam, the party leaders are highlighting the success stories of Naveen Patnaik Government.The party is also banking on the sympathy votes.On the other hand, the Congress that has fielded former legislator Abhimanyu Behera as its candidate also is trying hard to win the Kandhamal seat taking benefit of a possible division in anti-Congress votes in Kandhamal as the BJP nominee Rudra Madhab Ray was a former BJD MP from the constituency.The BJP too is no mood to give up.The party is trying best to highlight the achievements of Narendra Modi Government at the Centre and win the polls in Kandhamal despite the fact that many of its local leaders were said to be behind the riots in the Kandhamal district in 2008.The BJP also has roped in tribal leader Lambodar Kanhar to woo the Kui language speaking Kondh tribal voters.As the government officials were enjoying their dussehra holiday in entire Odisha, the leaders of Odisha were busy protecting their party’s interests in Kandhamal.While government offices were closed on account of Durga Puja holiday, everyone at the party offices in Bhubaneswar and Kandhamal were busy in Kandhamal by-poll.While both BJD and BJP were out to highlight developments achieved by their respective government it the State and at the Centre respectively, Congress was keenly focusing on corruption and communalism as major issues to fight its rivals.