BHUBANESWAR: Ward number 47, which made Ananta Narayan Jena a corporator and mayor twice, has been reserved for women for the upcoming Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) election.
This time, of 67 wards, 34 have been reserved for women. Also, the mayor will be directly elected, unlike the previous polls where corporators chose one among them as the mayor.
Jena had become a mayor for the first time in 2008. In the 2013 urban poll, he had received the highest number of votes (5,024) in Ward 47, a slum-dominated area. Because of his proximity to BJD supremo and chief minister Naveen Patnaik, Jena had been picked for the top post although many senior leaders in the party were in favour of a woman corporator for the job.
"The party is yet to take a call on who would be the mayor face. This time, the ward profile won't matter as the candidate will be elected directly. However, development of slums has been our top priority and we will field the right face in Ward 47," said a BJD insider.
The BJP is likely to throw a tough challenge to the BJD, not only over the election of mayor but also over the election of corporators. Poll analysts said as the Bhubaneswar MP seat went to the BJP in the 2019 general elections with Aparajita Sarangi winning against the BJD's Arup Patnaik, the BMC poll will be tough for both the parties.
