Polls: Factionalism hits all three major players

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ROURKELA: The three major players, BJD, BJP and Congress _ with internal bickering enter the prestigious 35-member Sundargarh Zilla Parishad polls bruised even as prestige of four stalwarts Sarada Prasad Nayak, Mangla Kisan, Jual Oram and Hemanand Biswal is at stake. If the BJP led by State unit chief Jual Oram and the Congress spearheaded by Sundargarh MP and former chief minister Hemanand Biswal are worst hit by intra-party wrangling, the BJD too feels the heat of factionalism. However, it still has an edge as the two powerful factions of Urban Development Minister Sarada Nayak and Rajya Sabha member Mangla Kisan are focused on wresting the seats from the Congress.Rourkela unit BJD president AC Mohanty denied differences between them. But, it is an open secret that both are stubbornly uncompromising to concede political space to each other.The formation of the BJD’s Rourkela and Sundargarh organisational districts in the recent past was a masterstroke. Mangla being president of Sundargarh unit has  final say in 18 seats while Sarada is focusing on the remaining 17 seats in the Bonai and Panposh sub-divisions. This ensures that their struggle for supremacy does not hurt the party prospects.  But, it is not a case with the BJP or Congress. The pressure to put up a decent show is hanging loose on Jual at his erstwhile Bonai Assembly constituency with his protégé and now suspended BJP MLA Bhimsen Choudhary all set to make maximum dent into his leadership. Moreover, local leaders in Birmitrapur, Sundargarh and Talsara Assembly segments nurture suppressed grudge against Jual.On the one hand, it is a do or die situation for the Congress with Hemanand going all out to establish his supremacy having sidelined the powerful Congress face, Kishore Chandra Patel. Patel with a better grip on the grassroots had led the Congress victorious thrice in a row. In 1997 and 2007, Congress made alliances.While the BJP retained the six seats in 2007, the BJD made a quantum leap from one seat in 2002 to 10 in 2007. It is now optimistic of a clean sweep.