Chikiti Assembly constituency in Odisha's Ganjam district is poised to witness a contest between two brothers in the forthcoming elections scheduled for May 13. The siblings squaring off in the electoral arena are the sons of former Odisha Assembly Speaker Chintamani Dyan Samantaray.
The opposition BJP has nominated the younger brother, Manoranjan Dyan Samantaray, while the elder brother, Ravindanath Dyan Samantaray, has been selected by the Congress. The Congress and BJP announced their candidates on Tuesday.
Their father, Chintamani Dyan Samantaray, a prominent Congress leader, was elected three times from Chikiti - twice as an independent (1980 and 1995) and once on a Congress ticket (1985).
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While the younger Samantaray has unsuccessfully contested the assembly elections twice - once on a Congress ticket (2014) and once on a BJP ticket (2019), his elder brother is contesting for the first time.
The Biju Janata Dal has nominated Chinmayananda Srirup Deb, the son of the state's Urban Development minister Usha Devi, as its candidate from the Chikiti assembly seat. This decision came as Usha Devi was unwilling to contest this time due to her age-related health issues. Usha Devi had been elected from the seat five times.
"I have been active in Congress since my father's time. As a result, I got a ticket from the party to contest. It will be a contest between two ideologies, not between two brothers," said Ravindranath.
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Manoranjan claimed that he had been very active in politics for the last several years and had received the BJP ticket to contest the election.
"Some vested interests might have instigated my brother to contest a ticket in Congress to disturb the family. However, it would not impact my poll prospects," he said.
Chintamani Dyan Samantray said he might not campaign due to his ill health.
The 84-year-old veteran leader, however, said he was a Congressman and opposed the policies of the BJP.
"My younger son's decision to contest on BJP ticket was his own decision. In democracy, we cannot impose our decision on anyone," he added.
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