BJD, BJP & Congress key contenders in Kandhamal Lok Sabha seat

Kandhamal Parliamentary seat was created in 2008 in place of erstwhile Phulbani after the presidential notification for the delimitation of constituencies.

The constituency came limelight due to the riots that rocked the state in the aftermath of the killing of VHP leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati in 2008. The episode finally led to breakup between BJD and BJP.

Kandhas, considered as the original tribal inhabitants of the area, and Panos, a scheduled caste community, wield considerable influence in the constituency, where Christians also comprise a sizable section of population.

The ruling BJD, which was looking for a new face for Kandhamal, is stated to have played a tribal card by fielding Samanta in the Lok Sabha constituency as tribals form a sizable population in the seat though it is unreserved.

Known for his role in providing educational facilities to tribal children in his institutes, Samanta has also got an opportunity to make a foray into direct politics with his nomination for the Lok Sabha constituency.

The soft spoken Samanta is considered to be possessing a "pro-tribal" image for his social work. The Rajya Sabha MP also enjoys acceptability among both Hindus and Christians because of his non-controversial identity.

Kandhamal has been a BJD fort where it won in 2009 Lok Sabha polls despite polarisation following the killing of Swami Laxmananda Saraswati in 2008.

In 2014 too, BJD candidate Hemendra Chandra Singh won with a margin of 1,81,017 votes securing 50.21 per cent votes. However, following his untimely death BJD nominated Singh's wife Pratyusha Rajeswari Singh who retained the seat in a by-election by beating her nearest BJP nominee Rudramadhab Ray by a whopping margin of 2,98,868 votes and bagging 61.54 per cent of the votes polled.

Singh, however, quit the ruling BJD after being denied renomination this time and subsequently joined the BJP.

Much before the election schedule was announced, Samanta had launched various activities in the constituency. He had recently laid the foundation of a branch of Kalinga Institute of Social Science (KISS) near Daringibadi in Kandhamal district.

Stating that he has been working for the development of scheduled caste and scheduled tribe people for the last 30 years, Samanta said now he will make sincere efforts to ensure overall development of Kandhamal.

Stating that the chief minister wants speedy development of Kandhamal, Samanta expresses the hope that he would be able to play a major role in fulfilling it. Samanta has intensified his campaign across the constituency, while the chief minister also undertook whirlwind tours of the area to bolster the poll prospects of the party candidate.

Swain of BJP has also reached out to the voters throughout Kandhamal projecting himself as an "honest" and committed worker. He has also been highlighting the works done by the BJP-led government at the Centre for development in different spheres and welfare of all sections.

Congress nominee Manoj Acharya alleges that people in the area are angry over lack of basic facilities and improper implementation of various welfare schemes including MGNREGA. The benefits of Kalia scheme for farmers also "failed" to reach the targeted beneficiaries, he claims. Assembly segments under Kandhamal Lok Sabha seat are also poised to witness multi-corner contests with both BJD and Congress facing rebel candidates in several seats. The Phulbani Assembly segment is all set to witness an interesting contests as five BJD rebel candidates are in the fray. There are a total of ten candidates in this seat.

While the main battle is between former MLA Saluga Pradhan of BJD and Archana Pradhan of BJP, former MLA Jacob Pradhan is contesting as an independent after resigning from the Congress for G Udayagiri ST Assembly segment. Except Balliguda segment, the candidates of two major parties BJD and Congress are facing rebel menace which is likely to upset the poll outcome.