TNI Bureau: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has snubbed Mayurbhanj MP and Union Minister Bishweswar Tudu and Saraskana MLA Budhan Murmu by not giving them tickets to contest the upcoming elections in Odisha.
Both Bishweswar and Budhan had the expectation of getting tickets in the last list of the candidates as the party had not fielded the candidates in all nine assembly seats of Mayurbhanj district. However, yesterday the saffron party completed the list and did not nominate either of them.
It is to be noted here that Bishweswar resigned as Engineer of Balimela Hydro Electric Project and contested the 2019 election from Mayurbhanj Lok Sabha seat on BJP ticket. After winning the election, he also became the Union Minister of State for Tribal Affairs and Jal Shakti.
However, gradually he landed in several controversies. He made the headlines by physically attacking two senior officers of the Mayurbhanj district Collectorate in 2022. Which is why, the party might have lost faith in him this time and fielded Rairangpur MLA Nabacharan Majhi from the Mayurbhanj Lok Sabha seat. As he was a well-known leader in the party, it was expected that Tudu might be given a ticket to contest the assembly election. However, the party did not give him ticket for that as well.
Likewise, Budhan Murmu, who left his profession of a doctor in 2019, was elected as the MLA from the Saraskana assembly segment. This time too, he was a strong contender and was in the top of the race of getting the party ticket for second consecutive time. However, everything got changed after the joining of former MLA Bhadav Hansda into BJP. He joined the saffron fold recently by quitting the BJD after getting assurance of a ticket for Saraskana assembly seat.
The relation between Budhan Murmu and Bhadav Hansda got sour and finally the latter was picked by the party yesterday to contest the assembly election from Saraskana.