The Paika community and slum dwellers are likely to shape the outcome of the prestigious Bhubaneswar Lok Sabha constituency where voting is scheduled for May 25. Former IAS officer and sitting BJP MP Aparajita Sarangi and BJD candidate Manmath Routray here are seeking votes on development work by their parties in Odisha's capital city.
A large number of voters in Khurda, Begunia and Jatni assembly segments of the Bhubaneswar Lok Sabha constituency belong to the Paika community.
More than 50,000 slum voters reside in three assembly segments of Bhubaneswar Central, Bhubaneswar North, and Ekamra-Bhubaneswar located within the capital city.
The Paika were originally a class of military retainers recruited since the 16th century by kings in Odisha from various social groups for martial services.
In return they were given hereditary rent-free land and titles.
As Bhubaneswar City has a history of low polling percentages in the past elections, slum dwellers in the capital city have been a deciding factor in at least three Assembly segments of Bhubaneswar North, Ekamra-Bhubaneswar and Bhubaneswar Central, political analysts said.
Both Routray and Sarangi claim their parties have done significant development work in the constituency.
The Congress has fielded its Odisha student wing (NSUI) chief Yasir Nawaz from the seat.
Routray, a pilot by profession, quit his job to contest the election against Sarangi.
Manmath, son of Suresh Routray, belongs to the Paika community. A six-time Congress MLA from Jatni, Suresh Routray was expelled from the Congress and is now campaigning for his son Manmath.
"I am seeking votes showcasing the works done by the BJD government. The state government has constructed roads, parks, bridges, water supply, and patta for slum dwellersand," Manmath Routray said.
The BJD leader claimed that Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik will take oath of office for the sixth term and he will win the poll with a good margin.
Prasanna Patsani who was elected from the Bhubaneswar Lok Sabha constituency in 1998, 2004, 2009 and 2014 on a BJD ticket belonged to the Paika community. He was denied a BJD ticket in the 2019 LS elections.
Sarangi had won from the Bhubaneswar Lok Sabha in 2019 defeating her BJD rival and former IPS officer Arup Patnaik by a margin of 28,839 votes.
Both BJD and BJP have been organising rallies to support of their party candidates.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President J P Nadda have conducted two roadshows in Bhubaneswar in support of BJP candidate Aparajita Sarangi.
Veteran Bollywood actor Hema Malini also campaigned for Sarangi in Saliasahi, the biggest slum in Bhubaneswar. Others who supported her included Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.
BJD president and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and chairman of Odisha’s Vision 5T programme,V K Pandian held roadshows and rallies in support of party nominee Manmath Routray.
5T includes Teamwork, Transparency & Technology leading to Transformation and Time.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had addressed a rally in Bhubaneswar.
Bhubaneswar is the capital but the citizens are yet to get basic amenities. A ring road is much needed for the people in the outskirts of Bhubaneswar.
Drainage of rainwater is a major problem in the city, said Congress candidate Yasir.
The seven Assembly segments under the Bhubaneswar Lok Sabha constituency are —Jayadev, Bhubaneswar Central, Bhubaneswar North, Ekamra-Bhubaneswar, Jatani, Begunia and Khurda.
Bhubaneswar Lok Sabha constituency has 16,68,225 voters of which 8,01,092 are female, 8,66,563 are male and 570 transgenders.
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