Interesting contest in Koraput constituency

Koraput: There is going to be a triangular contest in Koraput Lok Sabha constituency, where Congress MP Saptagiri Ulaka will face BJD candidate Kaushalya Hikaka and BJP candidate and its ST Morcha national general secretary Kaliram Majhi.

The 2019 election was a close contest between Saptagiri and Kaushalya, but BJP’s increasing vote share in the constituency could bring a turn around.
A traditional bastion of the Congress, the Lok Sabha seat was represented by veteran leader and former chief minister Giridhar Gamang nine times between 1972 and 2004.

Gamang, who left the Congress in 2015 and rejoined in January this year, was elected to the 5th Lok Sabha for the first time. He was re-elected from this constituency in 1977, 1980, 1984, 1989, 1991, 1996, 1998 and 2004.
His wife Hema Gamang retained the seat for the Congress in the 1999 elections, while Gamang was briefly chief minister of the state.
Historically, Congress had held this constituency, but Naveen Patnaik-led BJD entered in the form of Jairam Pangi and Jhina Hikaka. The seat went to the regional party after Pangi defeated Gamang in 2009. BJD retained the seat in 2014 when party candidate Jhina defeated Gamang by a narrow margin.

However, in 2019 the Congress, despite its disappointing performance in the general elections, recaptured the Koraput seat with Saptagiri defeating BJD’s Kaushalya, wife of Jhina Hikaka, by a close margin.
Formed in 1957, Koraput parliamentary constituency has been a focal point of political activity, with 17 general elections held so far. It consists of seven major assembly constituencies namely Pottangi, Lakshmipur, Jeypore, Koraput, Rayagada, Gunupur and Bissam Cuttack, spread over Koraput and Rayagada districts.

Now, as the country gears up for the upcoming general elections, the political landscape is vibrant. Current MP Saptagiri, a software engineer, is seeking re-election armed with a strong track record of actively engaging in parliamentary debates and articulating the concerns of constituents, although political analysts lack a direct grassroots connectivity. See the difference also.
On the other hand, BJD, continuing its commitment towards regional representation, has expressed confidence in Kaushalya Hikaka for the second time.

BJP candidate, Kaliram Majhi, a highly educated youth from Kashipur area of Rayagada district, has been carrying the burden of dedicated service to his party since 2008 and has earned the trust of the party leadership, including Prime Minister Modi.
Post nomination, Majhi has been engaged in rural outreach, connecting with voters in remote villages, a key strategy in this tribal-reserved parliamentary constituency, where community dynamics significantly influence electoral outcomes. The saffron party, which had secured around 9 per cent of the votes in the 2014 elections, took it to more than 19 per cent in 2019. This time she will try to improve further.