Odisha: BJD Seems to Have an Edge in Tribal-Dominated Kandhamal so Far

Among the major Lok Sabha constituencies in Odisha, Kandhamal stands out in many aspects.

 Kandhamal is known for its tribal population and their rich cultural heritage. Over the past many years, this district has remained synonymous with pristine nature and is a fabulous winter destination.

 With seven Assembly segments, Kandhamal has remained a Biju Janata Dal (BJD) bastion since 2000.     

 A sleepy tribal hub, Kandhamal is known for peace, amity and tranquility, but in 2008, it suddenly sprung into the limelight for the wrong reasons.

 An unprecedented communal conflagration took place between two communities that lasted for months, sweeping the entire district with religious hatred.

 The incident also played the role of a game changer when the nine- year-long alliance between Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and BJD broke on the ground of alleged fueling violence between two communities by certain Hindutva outfits.

 Subsequently, peace was restored and elections were held under tight security, and Kandhamal Lok Sabha seat went in the favour of BJD.

 But the common cry of Kandhamal was under-development on many fronts, be it employment, education and health.

 In 2019, BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik opted for an experiment by fielding an outsider as the party’s Lok Sabha candidate. He an educationist and social activist Achyut Samanta, who has been credited with working for the uplift of backward people in a few tribal-dominated districts, including Kandhamal.

 Samanta’s focus was on education and health. However, Kandhamal was also gasping for employment, as thousands of youths were without jobs.

 An 'Aspirational' District

 Today, Kandhamal district ranks among the top nine aspirational districts in NITI Aayog’s (the Central government’s think-tank) Delta ranking of aspirational districts. And the role that Kandhamal’s Member of Parliament played in creating an atmosphere of aspiration in the past five years is widely recognised, of course, excluding the two pandemic years.

 Seven hospitals are being built in all the seven Assembly segments of Kandhamal, and several schools (seven) are under construction, including day boarding schools in two segments.

 After the communal conflagration in 2008, Kandhamal was, in fact, panting for positive distraction, which Samanta, as an MP, could usher in this district.

 As the BJD candidate in the fray this year, too, Samanta, who had polled 49% votes in 2019, is facing BJP’s Sukanta Panigrahi and Manoj Kumar Mohapatra from Congress.

 Kandhamal, a Congress stronghold before 2000, this time may gain the spin-off benefits as BJP’s Panigrahi does not appear a match for either the BJD or the Congress candidate.

The writer is a freelance journalist based in Odisha. The views are personal.