Bhubaneswar: Politics is increasingly becoming a family affair in Odisha.
Earlier, the phenomenon was visible mainly in the royal families of the state for whom contesting elections has been a way of retaining their hold on power. But now, almost every influential politician wants his sons and daughters to follow in his footsteps.
From all appearances, dynastic politics is here to stay.
The most riveting contests are likely to take place in Bolangir where royal siblings, Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo and Arkesh Singh Deo, both Biju Janata Dal (BJD) candidates, are all set to take on Congress’s father-son duo of Narasingha Mishra and Samarendra Mishra. While Narasingha, a former law minister and leader of opposition in the last assembly, is fighting to retain the Bolangir assembly seat, his son is making his debut on the Bolangir Lok Sabha seat.
Interestingly, Narasingha, who happens to be the sitting MLA from Bolangir, will be taking on Arkesh, a political greenhorn almost half his age. His son Samarendra, on the other hand, will face Kalikesh, who has won the Bolangir Lok Sabha seat twice in a row. Kalikesh and Arkesh are the sons of former minister and Rajya Sabha member, A.U. Singh Deo, son of late R.N. Singhdeo, the only royal to have ever become the chief minister of Odisha.
Sources in the BJD said that A.U. Deo, who happens to be the Doon school mate of chief minister Naveen Patnaik and a five time MLA from Bolangir – the seat the royal family treats as its pocket-borough – had lobbied hard for a ticket for his younger son. The chief minister, though initially reluctant to give tickets to two members of the same family, finally obliged his old friend.
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On the other hand, Narasingha Mishra’s entry into the fray came as a surprise for many as he had announced before the polls that he would not contest because of his age. However, the leader, who is in his late seventies, later made a volt face saying that he had decided to contest on the demand of the people. With his son also getting a Congress ticket, it has been a double bonanza for the family.
The story of Bolangir is never complete without a reference to the husband-wife pair of BJP legislature party leader, K.V. Singhdeo and his wife, Sangeeta Kumari Singh Deo, both prominent members of the local royal family and contesting these elections on the BJP ticket. While KV would fight to retain his Patnagarh seat Sangeeta, a three time MP from Bolangir, would be looking to wrest the seat from his brother-in-law Kalikesh who happens to be KV’s cousin.
The Bolangir royal family has been vertically divided in terms of political ideology since decades. While AU Singh Deo and his family has been with the BJD (earlier Janata Dal), his nephew K.V. Singh Deo has been aligned with the BJP right from the beginning. A veteran K.V. has won the Patnagarh assembly seat five times in a row since 1995 while his wife, Sangeeta has won the Bolangir Lok Sabha seat thrice on BJP ticket. However, she lost to her brother-in-law, Kalikesh in 2009 and 2014.
Other families in the fray
Two other prominent Congress leaders are in the fray with their sons this time. While former Union minister Bhakta Charan Das has been fielded by the party from the Kalahandi Lok Sabha constituency his son Sagar Charan Das is making his debut on the party ticket from the Bhawanipatna assembly seat.
Similarly, George Tirkey is contesting the Sundergarh (ST) Lok Sabha seat as the candidate of the Grand Old party while his son Rohit Joseph has been fielded by the party from Birmitrapur (ST) assembly seat presently held by his father.
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The list does not end here. Former minister and Congress veteran, Suresh Routray is contesting from his traditional Jatni seat while his son-in-law Prasad Harichandan, former Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee chief, has been fielded by the party from Satyabadi assembly constituency.
In Sundergarh district, veteran Congress leader and former chief minister Hemanand Biswal’s two daughters are in the fray as the nominees of opposite parties. While Sunita Biswal is a BJD candidate for the Sundergarh Lok Sabha seat, her younger sister Amita has been fielded by the Congress from the Sundergarh assembly segment.
Family ties seem important in southern Odisha, too, with ruling BJD making its Koraput MP, Jhinna Hikaka pass on the baton to his wife, Kausalya. Similarly, Kalyani Devi, the great granddaughter of the erstwhile king of Paralakhemundi Maharaja Krushna Chandra Gajapati, is contesting the election on a BJD ticket from the Paralakhemundi assembly seat. She is the daughter of Gopinath Gajapati who was twice the Congress MP from Berhampur.
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While Sisir Gomang, son of former Congress chief minister Giridhar Gamang, who is now in the BJP, is contesting the Gunpur (ST) seat on the lotus symbol BJD supremo and chief minister, Naveen Patnaik has also offered tickets to the sons of at least three party leaders who are not contesting the polls because of different reasons.
He has decided to field the sons of chit fund scam-tainted MLAs, Pravat Ranjan Tripathy (Banki) and Pravat Ranjan Biswal (Chowdwar-Cuttack) from their respective constituencies while he has nominated Bishnubrata Routray, the son of Basudevpur legislator and minister Bijayashree Routray, who had expressed his desire not to contest, from his father’s seat.
Political analyst Prof Surya Mishra says that the phenomenon of family’s domination in politics is a relic of India’s feudal past. “Even though we became independent in 1947 several feudal traditions remained and this is one of them. The erstwhile Maharajahs were the first to try and perpetuate dynastic rule by taking control of politics. Slowly, others followed. But this is not good for the health of our democracy,” said Mishra.
Ruling BJD secretary, Bijay Nayak, however, sought to justify the allotment of tickets to the members of Bolangir royal family saying that it had been done on merit. “No one can deny the contribution of A.U. Singh Deo to the development of Bolangir. His son Kalikesh has proved his credentials as an MP and now his sibling Arkesh will serve the area,” said Nayak. The state Congress leader, on the other hand, preferred not comment on the issue.