Odisha panchayat polls: Vegetable vendor, college student registers wins

Bhubaneswar, Mar 02: A former Odisha Cabinet minister and son of a ruling Biju Janata Dal MLA lost in the panchayat elections while a college student, a vegetable vendor, and a dentist won in the three-tier rural polls in the state, PTI reported.

BJP leader and former cabinet minister Anjali Behera, who contested for a Panchayat Samiti member seat from Giridhar Prasad gram panchayat under Hindol Block in Dhenkanal district, lost the recently held elections by 826 votes.

Ms Behera, a former three-time MLA from Hindol seat was Women and Child Development and Handloom, Textiles and Handicrafts minister in the Naveen Patnaik government from 2009-2011 and 2011-2012. She was sacked from the BJD for anti-party activities and joined the BJP.

To remain active in politics and to serve the people, she had contested as a Panchayat Samiti member, Ms Behera had told reporters before elections.

Despite a Naveen Patnaik wave across the state, BJD MLA and former minister Ananta Das's son Biswajit Das lost the panchayat polls in the Balasore district.

Biswajit Das contested as a Panchayat Samiti member candidate backed by BJD from Sianroi panchayat in the Balasore district. He lost to an Independent candidate by 88 votes.

Another BJD-backed candidate and Ananta Das's relative Achyutananda Das also lost the polls in the Maheswar panchayat in Bhogarai in the Balasore district.

Heera Nayak, an undergraduate student hailing from a poor family of Pratap Purushottampur village in Puri district emerged victorious in the recently concluded Panchayat elections. She won the seat of Panchayat Samiti member by a slender margin of four votes.

Nayak said her father is a daily wage earner and the family lives in a dilapidated hut. Despite the financial hardship and obstacles, she is pursuing her studies and is in the third year of her graduation course.

"I have seen how my village people suffered in the Fani cyclone and how the local panchayat members failed to deliver. Then, I decided to fight elections," Nayak said.

Similarly, a vegetable vendor T Sridhar has won as a Zilla Parishad member from Ramanaguda zone-I in the Rayagada district. "The people have trust in me and they rejected money from rival parties and voted for me. I will never let them down," said Sridhar, who contested on a Congress ticket.

Lipika Majhi, a dentist by profession and daughter of former Congress MLA Bhajabal Majhi, has also won from Papadahandi Zilla Parishad zone-II in Nabarangpur district. She contested the election on a Congress ticket.

"Following my father's footsteps, I will serve the people of my area who are deprived of health services and quality education," she said.

Rammakanta Baral, son of former BJP leader Kulamani Baral who was killed along with his friend Divya Shankar Baral allegedly due to political reasons in Cuttack district, also won the elections as a Panchayat Samiti member from Nrutang Panchayat in Cuttack district. He defeated his nearest rival by a margin of 600 votes.

(PTI)