Expressbuzz, Feb 19, 2009
BHUBANESWAR: Senior Congress leaders are not willing to take chances. For them, the much talked about reshuffle to rejuvenate the party came a bit late. Sensing that the party may not fare so well in the Assembly elections, the satraps have started eyeing the Lok Sabha seats. Although the new leadership has begun campaigning across the State in full earnest, sources say all the leaders have repositioned themselves for the big fight for the Lok Sabha. And it has started with Jayadeb Jena.
Jena, who was State party president till recently, is interested in contesting from Bhadrak (SC) Lok Sabha seat. Though his Assembly constituency Anandpur (SC) is in Keonjhar district, he cannot contest from either Keonjhar or Mayurbhanj parliamentary seats which are reserved for STs.
Even Jena’s successor K P Singhdeo apparently is in no mood to contest the Assembly polls which otherwise would have galvanised his party activists to a large extent. KP is expected to stand from his traditional Dhenkanal seat. So will Chandrasekhar Sahu, a working president of the party, from his home turf Berhampur.
However, Kandhamal, now dereserved, is attracting the attention of several senior leaders. Congress considers it a winning seat in the aftermath of the riots.
Former chief minister J B Patnaik may opt for Lok Sabha after his nomination as a permanent invitee to the Congress Working Committee. Giridhar Gamang, a prominent tribal leader, is also reluctant to return to State politics.
For his part, deputy leader of the CLP Narasingh Mishra is keen on taking a plunge and may contest from Balangir Lok Sabha seat. With his traditional Assembly seat Binka abolished and Loisingha reserved for the SCs, Mishra will have to shift to Sonepur if he contests the Assembly polls. Sonepur seat has been dereserved.
From Kalahandi, with several aspirants in line, former Union minister and working president Bhakta Charan Das may try his luck.
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