The Bharatiya Janata Party on March 24 announced candidates for 18 out of 21 Lok Sabha seats in Odisha. The one nomination that sparked instant attention is that of that Pradeep Panigrahy, the sitting MLA from Gopalpur.
Despite his past controversies, including a stint of seven months in jail for allegedly deceiving youths with false job promises, the nomination for Berhampur Lok Sabha seat has placed Mr. Panigrahy directly in the political heartland of Ganjam— Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s home district.
The controversial politician has travelled the entire political spectrum with BJP fielding him as a Lok Sabha candidate in the 2024 General Election. Once a blue-eyed boy of Odisha CM, Mr. Panigrahy was instrumental in managing political affairs on behalf of Mr. Patnaik in latter’s Hinjili Assembly seat.
Mr. Panigrahy, a three-time MLA and former Minister in the Naveen Patnaik government, assumed an organizational role within the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) even after stepping down from the Ministry. His tenure as BJD’s Ganjam district president, starting in 2015, placed him at the helm of managing the party’s affairs in Ganjam. However, his relationship with the party soured when he raised concerns to Odisha’s CM about the non-involvement of elected representatives in COVID-19 management.
Subsequently, Mr. Panigrahy faced allegations of receiving money on behalf of Akash Pathak, the son of former IFS officer Abhay Pathak, in exchange for job opportunities. It needs to be mentioned that the BJP candidate’s daughter was scheduled to marry Akash Pathak. Mr. Panigrahy, however, consistently dismissed these accusations as a witch-hunt orchestrated by certain influential section within the BJD.
Mr. Panigrahy joined BJP this month fuelling speculation for a greater role in BJP. The nomination for Berhampur Lok Sabha seat proved the speculation correct.
