Twitter
Advertisement

Puri Lok Sabha constituency: Candidates for 2019 LS poll, past results, all updates

Battle of spokespersons

Latest News
article-main
An artist dressed in support of Biju Janata Dal party during Odishas Chief MInister Naveen Patnaik on his visit to Jagannath Temple
FacebookTwitterWhatsappLinkedin

The temple town of Puri is witnessing a fierce battle among spokespersons in the Lok Sabha election.Congress has fielded its Odisha unit media cell chairman Satyaprakash Nayak who is taking on BJP's national spokesperson Sambit Patra and incumbent BJD MP Pinaki Mishra, a spokesman of Naveen Patnaik's party. 

If one goes by 2014 result, Pinaki Mishra has little to worry about. He won by a margin of 25% vote share and with nearly 2.63 lakh difference against Congress candidate. But Odisha politics has changed in last five years, and by fielding Sambit Patra, a nationally well-known face, BJP which came third in the last election is giving BJD  a tough fight. 

In coastal Odisha, BJP has steadily gained ground and Sambit will hope to win from a seat which the party has never won or even came second in the past. Sambit though is confident of a win and Amit Shah has canvassed for him. Initially, there was speculation that PM Modi may contest from Lord Jagannath's city. However, Patra believes that he is PM Modi's envoy in Odisha. Patra has made a splash literally, taking dips in ponds, paying respects in local temples as the man more accustomed to AC studios in Noida gets accustomed with the heat and dust of electoral politics. 

His main competitor is Pinaki Mishra who is a three-time MP from Puri, including one stint as Congress legislator. Mishra hopes the work done by him and goodwill enjoyed by BJD will be enough to save the day of May 23, when Puri votes. 

Puri, Brahmagiri, Satyabadi, Pipili, Chilika, Ranpur, Nayagarh are the assembly segments in Puri Lok Sabha seat. National issues mainly pertaining to security has dominated BJP's electoral plank. 

Historically, Puri has been kind to BJD with party winning at a strech from 1998. Mishra won in 1996 in a Congress ticket. After twice losing to BJD's Braja Kishore Tripathy, Mishra who comes from an illustrious legal family made the switch to the ruling party in Odisha. In 2009 and 2014, he won in a canter. The fight is considerably difficult this time to determine who gets supremacy in the temple town. 

Find your daily dose of news & explainers in your WhatsApp. Stay updated, Stay informed-  Follow DNA on WhatsApp.
Advertisement

Live tv

Advertisement
Advertisement