NEWS portal from Orissa (India)

 Bold

Analytical

Investigative &

Truthful Journalism

Laxmipur by-poll: Naveen’s development card rejected

Basudev Mahapatra

April 19, 2008

Congress candidate Purnachandra Majhi won in the by-election for Laxmipur Assembly seat defeating his close contestant Bibhisan Majhi with a feeble margin of 484 votes. But, somehow, this victory brings for congress an occasion to celebrate and for BJD to review and find the reasons of its defeat. Purnachandra is the son of Ex-MLA Anantram Majhi who died last year.

Aware of the fact that Laxmipur assembly constituency is a congress stronghold seat, BJD and its coalition partner BJP put all their efforts to see Bibhisan Majhi as the winner because the by-election has been termed as the pretest of the forth-coming general election that would possibly take place in the end of this year or early 2009.

In order to win the seat BJD and its supreme Naveen Pattnaik played the card of development while congress played the cards of negligence of tribal population. The Cholera incident that took place in 2007 was made the primary election issue by the congress party and its candidate. Finally the negligence and cholera cards overpowered Naveen’s development card.

The result of the by-poll would boost the moral strength of Congress where as BJD-BJP leaders in the tribal dominated districts are apprehending such a frustrating result for their parties in the next general election.

As political observers believe, the public opposition to almost all the industrial projects planned by Naveen government, growing naxal menace and deteriorating law and order situation across the state would have worked against the ruling parties in the last by-election. However, observers and analysts also opine that these factors would influence the general election if the government doesn’t re-evaluate its steps.

>>> Politics >>> Home