Nabarangpur is one of the 21 Lok Sabha constituencies in Odisha, which will go to polls in the fourth phase on May 13. The seat is reserved for Scheduled Tribes, and covers areas from Nabarangpur, Koraput and Malingiri districts. Nabarangpur parliamentary seat has seven assembly segments: Umerkote (BJP), Jharigam (BJD), Nabarangpur (BJD), Dabugam (BJD), Kotpad (BJD), Malkangiri (BJP) and Chitrakonda (BJD).
Political Dynamics
BJP’s Chances
The BJP has fielded Balabhadra Majhi, who had quit the BJD ahead of the 2019 elections after being denied a ticket. Majhi had represented the constituency as a BJD MP from 2014 to 2019.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s face and image as a development-oriented leader is what is driving the BJP’s surge here in Nabarangpur. After Modi’s campaign and Ram Mandir have strengthened the BJP in the region. Schemes such as the PM Awas Yojana and Jal Jeevan Mission have been renamed by BJD to reap dividends. The BJP is, however, claiming that the funds for the schemes come from the Centre.
Based on data from previous elections, the BJP has a solid support base of 1.5 lakh voters already. The task, therefore, is to build upon this base and clinch a victory. In 2019, while the BJP had come third after the BJD and Congress, its loss margin was just about 50,000. That is not an insurmountable number for the BJP, given that the party had set its eyes on this seat early on and has put its organisational muscle to full use.
BJD Frontrunner in Assembly Election
While the BJP appears well-poised to emerge victorious in the Lok Sabha election in the Lok Sabha constituency, the BJD remains the primary choice for voters when it comes to assembly elections. The BJP appears to be focussing most of its energies on the parliamentary elections, although they are also working to increase their seat and vote share in the assembly polls.
The BJD has replaced its sitting MP, Ramesh Chandra Majhi, with Pradeep Kumar Majhi. Paradeep Majhi was the Congress MP from the seat in 2009. However, in subsequent elections in 2014 and 2019, he narrowly missed the victory line and finished second behind BJD candidates Balabhadra Majhi and Ramesh Chandra Majhi. Like the BJP candidate, Pradeep Majhi is also a well-known face across Nabarangpur.
Although the BJD is a powerful player here, it may not be able to keep its defences up at least in the Lok Sabha election in the face of the BJP, which is aggressively campaigning across Nabarangpur. There is also internal dissension within the BJD over ticket distribution, with leaders and workers unhappy over the selection of a former Congress MP, Pradeep Majhi. There is similar tussle in both the BJP and Congress camps as well. Within the saffron party, several leaders and workers have voiced their protest over the ticket being given to Balabhadra Majhi, while the Congress camp has had to witness the exit of over 30 office-bearers due to Bhujabal Majhi’s nomination.
Meanwhile, the BJD has been losing senior leaders to the BJP in what appears to be a tell-tale sign of how the political sands in Odisha are gradually shifting in the saffron party’s favour. Earlier in April, Ramesh Chandra Sai had quit the BJD and joined the BJP, becoming the fifth MLA to do so. Similarly, two MPs have switched sides as well. The Congress is not much of a contest here as the real fight is only between the BJD and BJP.
Key Issues
Rural Road Connectivity: People have been left frustrated at the administration’s inaction and took matters into their own hands in Dhepaguda village. People in the village were calling on the local administration to construct an all-season road, which the local administration failed to take up. This led to the people pooling in their resources to construct the road and pay for it out of their own pockets. While this was a major embarrassment for the government and the local municipal corporation, no action has been taken to fix or construct the roads to improve connectivity.
Healthcare: Last year, the Odisha High court expressed deep concern over the crumbling health infrastructure based on a report submitted by the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA). According to the report, many health centres in the region had only one doctor accompanied by a nurse. Moreover, there was a lack of modern equipment, such as X-Ray machines, ECG or even ultrasound. People have had to turn to private hospitals which are expensive and out of reach for the majority of the population.
Water Scarcity: Many villages in the hinterlands are devoid of drinking water facilities. A village in Tendeka Dongri, which has a population of 400 people, has no tube wells for drinking water. Women often travel several kilometres to collect water. Lack of healthcare infrastructure in the area exacerbates the issue leading to deaths. The district does not have any large and medium irrigation facilities except check dams. As per statistics, only 17% of the district’s land is irrigated. Adding more pain to the people in the region is the fact that more than 67 villages in the district were submerged by the Indravati Project but the region does not have access to the reservoir water.
Farmer Issues: Farmers in the region suffer due to lack of adequate rain and a failure of the government to provide irrigation. This leads to crop failure and economic loss for the farmers. For a long time, the farmers have agitated and staged numerous demonstrations against the government to address the issue, however no action has been taken. Being a rain-fed area, farmers are dependent on the rains for their irrigation needs, erratic rainfall means that every year, farmers face these issues. In addition, economic losses due to crop failure also leads to increased debt burden as compensation is often delayed.
Railway Connectivity: Several places in Odisha are yet to get railway connectivity and one of them is the Lok Sabha constituency of Nabarangpur. People have continued to press for a railway line through the region to provide better connectivity, but to no avail. Two ambitious projects were announced back in 2016, however both of them are in limbo. People have blamed the lack of railway connectivity as a major reason for the lack of socio-economic development in the region.
Tribal Issues: Nabarangpur is a tribal-dominated region, with a 55% Scheduled Tribe population. While semi-urban centres have basic facilities, hinterlands and deep lying forest hamlets have failed to receive basic amenities such as drinking water, schooling, healthcare, or even electricity. There are many areas, which remain cut off from modern society. Witch-hunting and witchcraft are major issues in the tribal areas of Nabarangpur.
Infrastructure Development
Irrigation Projects: Govindapalli integrated irrigation project is being constructed on rivers River Saptadhara and Garia and will provide irrigation facilities to 92,815 acres of land in Malkangiri, Mathili, Khairput and Korkunda blocks. It is being constructed at a cost of Rs 4,000 crores. Parbati Giri Mega Lift Project at the cost Rs 1,272 crore will provide irrigation facilities to an ayacut area of 48,500 acres and the Turi-Gunthat Irrigation Project for Rs 577 crore will provide irrigation facilities to an ayacut area of 22,500 acres.
Nabarangpur Town Bypass: A town bypass road was announced last year by roads, highways and transport minister Nitin Gadkari on NH26 at a cost of Rs 169.2 crore. The road will be 9.1-km long and will help ease traffic congestion in the city.