Perhaps for the first time in the political history of Odisha, three rival parties – BJD, Congress and BJP – appeared in the same poster as they fielded consensus candidates in the three-tier panchayat elections in a border area disputed by Andhra Pradesh.
Such posters and banners with photographs of senior leaders of the three parties seeking votes for consensus candidates can now be seen in Kotia area of Koraput district, where polling will be held on February 18.
The parties decided to select consensus candidates for sarpanch, committee member and ward member posts in Kotiya instead of going for elections in Kotia gram panchayat, where the AP followed the Supreme Court’s directive a year ago despite Odisha’s objection. Referring to Panchayat elections was held. disputed area.
All three parties have nominated Mamta Jani for the post of Zilla Parishad member of Zone-1 under Potangi block. Apart from Kotiya Gram Panchayat, Zone-I also includes the GPs of Maliput, Pukali, Potangi, Devpattangi, Gangrajpur, Nuaguda and Sunki. Jani is contesting as an independent candidate.
The troika has fielded consensus candidates for other positions in the region. Except for Zilla Parishad seats, candidates for other posts contest elections without a party symbol. The three parties urged the local people not to field any candidate against the candidate for the post of Zilla Parishad unanimously. An independent candidate withdrew his candidature but the other refused.
Now the election will be fought between Mamta Jani and another independent candidate Tikai Jemel. Villagers want me to win the election. They are all rallying behind me. I will fight and win this election, Jemel said.
Congress’s Koraput district president Meenakshi Bahinipati, BJD district president Ishwar Chandra Panigrahi, senior BJP leader and former MP Jairam Pangi were seen on a platform seeking votes for Jani. A banner carrying photographs of BJD President and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, BJP State President Sameer Mohanty and Odisha Congress President Niranjan Patnaik was displayed at the venue. BJD Koraput district president Ishwar Chandra Panigrahi said that this is the first time that pictures of all party leaders are visible in a poster. Senior district leaders of BJD, Congress and BJP have also started visiting villages in Kotia area to seek votes for Jani.
While there are 5,197 eligible voters in Kotia Gram Panchayat, the number of other voters in other Gram Panchayats is 17,121. In Kotia Gram Panchayat, 14 candidates, including 13 consensus candidates, are in the fray for 13 wards, while seven candidates are trying their luck for one sarpanch post.
Of these seven candidates, one is a consensus candidate. The dispute over the ownership of 21 of the 28 villages under the Kotiya Gram Panchayat first reached the Supreme Court in 1968. In 2006, the apex court held that the inter-state boundaries did not fall within its jurisdiction and only Parliament could resolve them, as it had imposed a permanent injunction on the disputed area.
In August last year, after the Andhra Pradesh administration attempted to launch several schemes in the area, the Odisha government deployed police in Kotia and put up barricades. The southern state had announced the results of the panchayat elections held in Kotia.
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