Bibhu Prasad Tarai is the BJP candidate for the 18th Lok Sabha election from the Jagatsinghpur constituency, Odisha. Indian National Congress (INC) nominated Rabindra Kumar Sethy and the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) fielded Rajashree Mallick to run for the upcoming election. The Jagatsinghpur Lok Sabha constituency will go for election on June 1, 2024 (phase 7).
In the 2019 elections, Bibhu Prasad Tarai lost the Jagatsinghpur Lok Sabha constituency seat to BJD candidate Rajashree Mallick who secured 50.44 percent votes. However, the BJP candidate secured 28.34 percent votes.
Bibhu Prasad Tarai has changed political affiliations multiple times. Till 2009, Tarai was part of CPI and from 2009-14 he was a member of the Congress party before joining BJP in 2019. In 2009, Bibhu Tarai won the parliamentary elections and was elected to the 15th Lok Sabha. In the past, when Tarai was the Jagatsinghpur MP, he was allegedly targeted by a BJD minister for his caste.
Jagatsinghpur Lok Sabha Constituency
The constituency comprises of 7 assembly regions: Niali, Paradeep, Tirtol, Balikuda-Erasama, Jagatsinghpur, Kakatpur and Nimapara. The constituency is a BJD dominant region as all the 7 assembly seats here are occupied by the BJD candidates. Similarly, since 1999 (except once in 2009) BJD candidates have won the parliamentary seat from the constituency.
The Jagatsinghpur Lok Sabha constituency is a SC category parliament seat. It comprises part of Cuttack district and entire Jagatsinghpur and part of Puri district. The constituency has a high literacy rate with 77.36% population being educated. The SC, ST, and Muslim populations in the region is 20.63%, 1.04%, and 5% respectively. Despite being nearly 1.6 million in number the SC candidates here recently showed discontent over the representation and concerns in the constituency. The SC communities, are reportedly, fielding their independent candidates in response to the alleged failure of different governments and exploitation of SC category designation by the general caste individuals.
The constituency is rich in fertile soil due to the presence of the Mahanadi River. Industrial development could have been possible here due to the presence of Paradeep port, and IFFCO Urea factor. 92% of the population in the constituency lives in villages and the remaining 8% resides in Urban areas.
The Lok Sabha election result 2024 will be announced on June 4, 2024.