BHUBANESWAR: Byelection to the Umerkote Assembly constituency, scheduled for November 30, will be an acid test for Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik whose government is reeling from a number of scams and irregularities. It would also test the popularity of the Chief Minister who is leaving no stone unturned to retain the seat. The going has not been, however, smooth for Naveen from the beginning. Law and Rural Development Minister Bikram Keshari Arukh, a member of the committee constituted to oversee the campaigning of BJD candidate Subash Gond, is embroiled in a controversy for availing of two houses under the discretionary quota. Another key minister in charge of campaigning Surya Narayan Patro is also in Opposition crosshairs for allegedly undervaluing his property. Though the BJD poll managers maintain that the issues would have no impact on the outcome of the poll, the controversies have certainly given ammunition to the Opposition in their campaigning. The BJD has tried to play safe by fielding Subash, one of the close associates of slain MLA Jagabandhu Majhi, a Gond himself. The two other main players in the bypoll __ the Congress and the BJP _ have fielded candidates from the Gond community too to ensure a division in the votes and deny BJD an outright victory. At least 60 per cent of the electorate belongs to the Gond community while Bengali settlers account for 15 per cent. The BJP, which is trying to regain its earlier stronghold, has fielded former MLA Dharmu Gond, He has a good network in the constituency. However, internal bickering in the local unit and a lacklustre State leadership are the two major impediments before the BJP. The Congress has fielded Jeetendra Majhi, a lawyer, from the seat. However, the local units of the BJD and the Congress are not entirely happy with the selection of the candidates. A strong faction in the BJD wanted a fresher to be fielded to prevent the Opposition political parties from taking any electoral advantage from the resentment in the Gond community over the style of functioning of Jagabandhu. Though Jagabandhu was elected with a huge margin in 2009 Assembly election from the constituency, he had become unpopular among the Gonds for several reasons. He had also not allowed any other BJD politician in the constituency to gain a foothold. This is the reason why sympathy factor will not play a major role in the outcome of the poll, analysts said. The wheelchair-bound slain MLA was also not quite popular among the Bengali settlers as he had to fight against them to secure the rights of the tribals.
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