BJD's Lambodar Nial To Face BJP's Royal Malvika Keshari Deo From Kalahandi (image-X/LambodarNial3)

Biju Janata Dal leader Lambodar Nial thanked Odisha Chief Minister and party chief Naveen Patnaik for nominating him from the Kalahandi Lok Sabha constituency. In his thank-you note, he confidently stated that the party will win the seat because people will vote in the name of the CM. He also predicted the party would receive 75 to 80 percent of the votes as the Yadav community wields over 30 percent of the votes in the constituency.

The BJD faces formidable opponents such as the BJP”s Malvika Keshari Deo, the wife of the scion of the royal family of Kalahandi Arka Keshari Deo. Congress has nominated Draupadi Majhi, a grassroots worker who has been successful in panchayat and Zilla Parishad elections.

While the BJP has played its royal card during the previous two elections, the BJD’s choice of nominating Mr. Nial for the first despite him having lost two assembly elections from the Khariar assembly seat appears odd at first.

However, the 54-year-old candidate has engaged with the Gouda community at the grassroots level. The Gouda community constitutes about 40 percent of the population in Khariar and Boden in Nuapada district.

With an OBC background, Mr. Nial hails from Dotto village in Nuapada district. Mr. Nial previously served as the sarpanch of Karangamal GP in 1992, chairman of Boden Block in 2002, and an elected member of the Nuapada zilla parishad in 2012. Rising through the ranks over the years, he currently serves as the general secretary of BJD in the district.

With his affiliation with the BJD through the years and his OBC background, Mr. Nial could increase his chances of winning the Kalahandi Lok Sabha seat.