Berhampur, February 27: The electoral battle in this southern Orissa constituency has turned out to be a prestige issue for the Congress in general and the Patnaiks in particular. Wife of Chief Minister J B Patnaik and Rajya Sabha member Jayanti Patnaik has locked horns with BJP-BJD alliance nominee Gopinath Gajapati Narayan Deo.Even though there are four other candidates including Ali Kishore Patnaik of the CPM, Berhampur is virtually witnessing a direct contest between the Congress and the BJP. The Patnaiks have left no stone unturned to retain the seat which is known as a Congress bastion. The Congress had never lost any Lok Sabha elections in the constituency since 1957. The only time the CPI won the seat was in 1952.The biggest advantage for the Congress candidate is the undiluted voters' loyalty for the party which was clearly evident during this correspondent's visit to the constituency. Narayan Patra, a pan shop owner of Rambha, one of the Assembly segment of the parliamentray constituency wasconfident of a Congress win this time. This is despite the fact that Patra is a supporter of the BJP.Gajapati was elected from the constituency in 1989 and 1991 elections on a Congress ticket. He left the seat in favour of former prime minister P V Narasimha Rao who successfully contested the election in 1996 along with Nandyal his home constituency in Andhra Pradesh. Rao, however, retained the Berhampur seat.Like previous elections, Telugu voters who constituted nearly 40 per cent of the total electorate are likely to play a key role during the ensuing poll. They are the traditional supporters of the Congress. However, the denial of ticket to Rao had created resentment among the Telugu voters.Aware of the fact, the CMhas taken all possible steps to woo this section. In his bid to prevent any erosion in the Telugu vote bank, the Chief Minister persuaded Rao to come out of his temporary hybernation to campaign for his wife. Rao obliged the CM by addressing as many as three meetings in support of MrsPatnaik during his two-day visit to the constituency.
