Suresh Routray: Cong veteran Routray’s 2 sons fail to taste electoral success | Bhubaneswar News
Bhubaneswar: Veteran politician Suresh Routray’s family faced disappointment at this year’s elections as both his sons suffered poll defeats. While his elder son, Siddharth Routray, who contested on a Congress ticket, finished third in the Nimapara assembly seat, his younger son, Manmath, a former pilot who contested from the Bhubaneswar Lok Sabha seat, lost to BJP’s sitting MP Aparajita Sarangi.
Sources said Suresh’s calculations went wrong, with Siddharth opting for Nimapara rather than his father’s bastion, Jatni, to contest, while Manmath joined the BJD against his father’s will. Siddharth lost significantly, securing just 7,066 votes, while the winner, BJP’s Pravati Parida, polled 95,430 votes. Manmath polled 477,367 votes and lost by 35,152 votes.
“On moral grounds, I could not have contested from Jatni as my brother ran on a BJD ticket from the Bhubaneswar Lok Sabha seat, under which Jatni falls. I could not contest from Jatni because my father supported my brother and, indirectly, the BJD. So, I chose Nimapara. I wanted to avoid a direct fight with my father. Anyhow, I have understood politics from close quarters and there is no end to politics with defeat,” Siddharth told TOI.
Regarding his brother’s defeat, he said, “Manmath fell into BJD’s trap. I knew my brother was being used. I knew he would face defeat.”
Suresh was suspended by the Congress for campaigning for Manmath in Bhubaneswar. With senior Routray deciding not to contest elections after 2019, the family has faced a setback with none of its members elected now.
It was also a debacle for BJD leader Pranab Prakash Das’s family, with three members facing defeat. While Pranab, BJD’s organisational secretary, lost to BJP’s Dharmendra Pradhan in Sambalpur Lok Sabha seat, his mother, Sandhyarani Das, lost the Korei assembly seat to BJP’s Akash Dasnayak. Pranab’s brother-in-law, Arindam Roy, who contested on a BJP ticket, lost to BJD’s Prashanta Behera in the Salipur assembly seat.
Sources said Suresh’s calculations went wrong, with Siddharth opting for Nimapara rather than his father’s bastion, Jatni, to contest, while Manmath joined the BJD against his father’s will. Siddharth lost significantly, securing just 7,066 votes, while the winner, BJP’s Pravati Parida, polled 95,430 votes. Manmath polled 477,367 votes and lost by 35,152 votes.
“On moral grounds, I could not have contested from Jatni as my brother ran on a BJD ticket from the Bhubaneswar Lok Sabha seat, under which Jatni falls. I could not contest from Jatni because my father supported my brother and, indirectly, the BJD. So, I chose Nimapara. I wanted to avoid a direct fight with my father. Anyhow, I have understood politics from close quarters and there is no end to politics with defeat,” Siddharth told TOI.
Regarding his brother’s defeat, he said, “Manmath fell into BJD’s trap. I knew my brother was being used. I knew he would face defeat.”
Suresh was suspended by the Congress for campaigning for Manmath in Bhubaneswar. With senior Routray deciding not to contest elections after 2019, the family has faced a setback with none of its members elected now.
It was also a debacle for BJD leader Pranab Prakash Das’s family, with three members facing defeat. While Pranab, BJD’s organisational secretary, lost to BJP’s Dharmendra Pradhan in Sambalpur Lok Sabha seat, his mother, Sandhyarani Das, lost the Korei assembly seat to BJP’s Akash Dasnayak. Pranab’s brother-in-law, Arindam Roy, who contested on a BJP ticket, lost to BJD’s Prashanta Behera in the Salipur assembly seat.
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