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BJD to field cine star for LS seat

BERHAMPUR: The BJD is likely to field Oriya cine star Siddhant Mohapatra in the Berhampur parliamentary constituency.

The BJD is all set to use ‘reel power’ of Oriya cine star Siddhant Mohapatra to counter the political prowess of Congress Union Minister, Chandrasekhar Sahu in the Berhampur Lok Sabha seat. According to BJD sources, Siddhant, who formally joined the BJD on Friday has parental links with Berhampur. He was brought up in the city.

A BJD top-brass informed The Hindu that the party has decided to field him as the candidate for the Berhampur parliamentary constituency with an aim to gain this traditional stronghold of the Congress. The BJD wants to use glamour power of Siddhant along with the personal charisma of the BJD supreme, Naveen Patnaik to defeat Mr. Sahu in this constituency. The Congress has already made it clear that Mr. Sahu who also happens to be a working president of the Orissa Pradesh Congress would again contest from Berhampur Loksabh seat.

Siddhant has already played the role of a politician in Oriya movies. In ‘Sarpanch Babu’ he had played the role of a sarpanch. In an underproduction movie he is said to be playing the role of a crony of a political top-brass. But in real life he would have to it out to reach the most coveted seat of power in the country, the Lok Sabha.

After joining the BJD, Siddhant said he joined the party for his admiration and respect for Naveen Patnaik. He would now be handed over the charge to safeguard the prestige of his party in his party chief’s home district. Since 1951, the Berhampur parliamentary seat has gone to non-Congress party only twice. In 1951 it was won by the left party candidate and in 1999, the BJP could win it after forming an alliance with the BJD.

But it could not repeat the feat in 2004. The stronghold of the Congress had brought the former Prime Minister, P.V.Narasimha Rao to this constituency to contest in 1996. It is to be seen whether the ‘reel power and glamour’ of Siddhant enhanced by the BJD’s organisational strength would be able to ravage this Congress stronghold in the coming elections or not.

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