Why All Eyes In Odisha Are On Kendrapara In This Election

Of the 21 Lok Sabha seats in Odisha, Kendrapara is the one that has kept everyone riveted in this election. The reason: the outcome in this coastal constituency will determine the political future of Baijayant ‘Jay’ Panda, Chief Minister and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) supremo Naveen Patnaik’s ‘Enemy No. 1’ at the moment and the BJP candidate from the seat.
In the 19 years that Naveen has been in power, no leader has won a direct election after falling out with the BJD supremo. Stalwarts of Odisha politics like Ramakrushna Patnaik, Bijoy Mohapatra and Sarat Kar have fallen by the wayside while others like Amar Prasad Satpathy and Prashant Nanda have returned to the fold, their tails firmly between their legs. If Jay manages to win, it would mean that Naveen is losing his vice-like grip on the state and also bust the organized propaganda by the ruling party that he is a non-entity without Naveen on his side. A win this time will set the two-time MP from Kendrapara firmly on course for a much bigger role in state politics in the days ahead.    

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