Post Zilla Parishad landslide in Odisha, BJD eyes majority in panchayat samitis

By Express News Service

BHUBANESWAR: After the large mandate within the Zilla Parishad elections, the ruling BJD is now specializing in capturing a majority of panchayat samitis by putting in party-supported candidates as chairpersons.Election to the submit of chairpersons of panchayat samitis might be held on March 12. Intense politicking has began amongst representatives of the three major political events – BJD, BJP and Congress – because the submit of chairperson of panchayat samitis together with the sarpanchs maintain the important thing to dominance in rural areas.

Though the submit is apolitical, the election is keenly fought by the political events due to the funds on the disposal of the panchayat samitis and the affect it has on the local-level politics.While the BJD claimed that it has set a goal to win the submit in no less than 275 to 280 blocks out of the 314, BJP and Congress maintained that the scenario will not be so rosy for the ruling social gathering. They claimed that the efficiency of the BJD has not percolated all the way down to the grassroots stage.

General secretary of the BJP Golak Mohapatra claimed that the social gathering is concentrating on to win the submit in no less than 150 blocks. The BJP supporters have gained many posts of panchayat samiti members.Similarly, Congress is hoping to win no less than 20 to 25 panchayat samiti chairperson posts on this election. Party spokesperson Manoranjan Das stated that Congress is hopeful that party-supported candidates will win the submit in Koraput, Puri, Jagatsinghpur and Balangir districts.

Both the BJP and Congress focused the BJD for resorting to corruption forward of the election to the submit. Senior Congress chief Santosh Singh Saluja alleged that the BJD is providing Rs 5 to Rs 10 lakh to every Independent candidate and likewise candidates backed by BJP and the Congress.

BJP chief Prithviraj Harichandan alleged that the BJD leaders are attempting to affect the samiti members by any means. “Since the mandate in the panchayat polls has not been completely in favour of the BJD, its leaders are making every attempt to influence the block chairperson elections by muscle and money,” he added. In 2017 panchayat elections, BJD supported candidates had gained 218 panchayat samitis whereas Congress and BJP supported candidates gained 45 and 29 panchayat samitis respectively.