Three-way keen contest expected.
One of the poorest part of Odisha and country, Kalahandi in Western Odisha is one of the 21 Lok Sabha seats up for grabs in the state.
BJP after its stellar performance in the Panchayat polls at Kalahandi, is definitely confident of wresting the seat from BJD. In campaign trail, PM Modi has alleged BJD and Congress of keeping people in Odisha poor for their own benefit. Patnaik has hit back asking why grants for KBK region was withdrawn by Centre
To arrest the slide of BJD in Western Odisha, CM Naveen Patnaik is contesting from the region in the assembly election which is taking place. In Kalahandi, BJD has changed sitting MP Arka Keshari Deo and has fielded, MLA Pushpendra Singh Deo,member of the Royal family of Kalahandi. He is up against BJP state president Basanta Panda. He was the sitting MLA from Naupada but has now taken the plunge in Parliamentary politics. The third jigsaw of the puzzle is former MP and Congress candidate Bhakta Charan Das. Kalahandi has been a seat which has changed hands frequently.
Pratap Keshari Deo won the seat from 1957-77, winning as candidates of Swatantra Party, Ganantatra Parishad and also as independent. Congress won the seat in 1980 and again repeated feat in 1984 and 2009. BJD won the seat 2014. Interestingly father of winning BJD candidate, Bikram Keshari Deo had won the seat thrice with BJP ticket in 1998, 99, 2004.
Congress candidate Bhakta Charan Das, is a three time MP from this seat. So Kalahandi will be one of the seat where a proper three-way contest will be seen on April 11. In the first phase on 11th April, Kalahandi voting will take place.
The assembly segments under Kalahandi LS are: Nuapada, Khariar,Lanjigarh, Junagarh, Dharmgarh, Bhawanipatna, Narla.
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