BERHAMPUR, April 15: Berhampur parliamentary constituency is to see a fight between the political acumen of a veteran leader and the aspirations and glamour of a cine star.
Union minister of state Mr Chandrasekhar Sahu seeks re-election from this constituency. The BJD has preferred to field Oriya cine star, Siddhant Mohapatra, as its candidate to counter the onslaught of Mr Sahu in this traditional Congress bastion. This high profile fight between star campaigners has so far kept the voters entertained.
In 1996, this traditional stronghold of the Congress had the occasion to elect former Prime Minister, PV Narasimha Rao. The constituency, adjoining Andhra Pradesh, has around 30 per cent Telugu speaking voters.
The BJP has fielded tribal leader Mr Bharat Paika as its candidate for the Lok Sabha seat. Mr Paika is the sitting MLA of Ramgiri, an Assembly segment of this parliamentary constituency, which was abolished following delimitation.
The contest looks likely to be centred on the Congress and the BJD.
It may be noted that in 1999, when the alliance between the BJD and the BJP was intact, a BJP candidate Mr Anadi Sahu managed to win from this Congress bastion. But the BJP and Mr Sahu could not repeat the feat in 2004. Two other non-Congress candidates have reached the Lok Sabha from this Congress stronghold. They were Mr Bijay Chandra Das of the CPI, who won in 1951, and an Independent candidate Mr Uma Charan Patnaik in 1957.
After delimitation, the reconstituted Assembly segments of this Lok Sabha constituency are: Berhampur, Digapahandi, Chikiti, Chatrapur, Gopalpur of Ganjam district, Paralakhemundi, and Mohana of Gajapati district.
The BJD is using the glamour of cine star Siddhant to consolidate and unite the anti-Congress vote in each Assembly segment of the constituency. A large number of cinema and TV stars turned up to campaign for Mr Mohapatra.
To counter the BJD's glamorous campaign, the Congress has roped in Ms Rachna Banarjee, the former romantic cine partner of Mr Mohapatra, to campaign for the Congress and Mr Sahu. The high profile campaign of the Congress has also included AICC chief and UPA chairperson Ms Sonia Gandhi, and union minister Mr Oscar Fernandes. Accommodating to the sizeable Telugu populace, Telugu cine star-turned-politician Urvasi Sharada, Mr Rajya Sabha MP, and Mr T Subbarami Reddy also reached Berhampur for the Congress.
Mr Sahu has said that while cine-stars may draw crowds, the people will surely vote for a mature politician to keep alive the legacy of the Congress in this constituency. Siddhant, meanwhile, hopes to start a new era in Orissa politics on the back of his success.
Up until now, cine-stars have not shined much in Orissa politics. An exception is veteran Oriya actor and director Prashant Nanda, who had joined the BJP and had even become a state minister in the BJD-BJP ministry. Later, he joined the NCP. Now, with a renewed political alliance with the BJD, he hopes to restart a political career. Another actor, Muna Khan, the nephew of Congress leader Mr Habibullah Khan, had joined the BJD but had failed to make much headway.