BHUBANESWAR: With the declaration of candidates for the simultaneous elections to the Assembly and the Lok Sabha, Odisha's three major political parties, the ruling Biju Janata Dal, the Congress, and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), have been facing a tough task to quell the rebellion by leaders denied tickets.
Disappointed aspirants are either jumping to other parties or announcing to contest as independent candidates in their respective constituencies. Similarly, many aspirants, along with their supporters, have been protesting at the party headquarters demanding reconsideration of the decision.
Talking to media persons, senior BJD leader Padmanabh Behera said: "There have always been rebels in politics. This time, the number of rebels is a bit more in number."
He said that BJD has the expertise in winning elections by successfully dealing with such rebellions.
Several leaders tendered their resignations from the party within hours of it declaring its candidates list on Wednesday.
MLA Parshuram Dhada and former Phubani MLA Debendra Kanhar were among those who quit soon after Chief Minister and party President Naveen Patnaik announced the second list of candidates for Assembly seats.
Similarly, two more senior leaders from Berhampur - Rama Chandra Panda and T. Gopi - resigned from the party on Thursday.
"I was a ticket aspirant for the Berhampur Lok Sabha seat in 2019 but the party fielded Chandrashekar Sahu who joined the BJD after leaving the Congress. Though I have been keen to contest the Lok Sabha polls, I was again denied a ticket this time despite serving the party over the years. The party has only given assurances to me every time, ” said Panda, a former Deputy Speaker of the Assembly.
Heavyweight and Bhadrak constituency aspirant, Asit Patnaik and senior Jagatsinghpur leader Amarendra Das have also quit.
Similarly, the BJP has been seeing severe protests by some leaders denied tickets.
Overlooked aspirants held meetings with their supporters at many places in the state and decided to oppose the candidates announced by the party in their respective areas. Ex-MLA and senior leader Debaraj Mohanty has resigned from the party after being denied a ticket to contest elections from the Aska constituency in Ganjam district, and so did Sonali Sahu following her displeasure over ticket allotment. Soon, she rejoined the Congress.
A continuous exodus of leaders has turned into the biggest headache for the Congress even before the announcement of the candidates' list for a majority of seats in the state.
Many senior leaders, including sitting MLAs, have resigned from the party and many of them have joined the ruling BJD. They include sitting MLA Adhiraj Panigrahi, ex-MLA Chiranjib Biswal, ex-minister Ganeswar Behera, and ex-MP Surendra Singh Bhoi.