Just ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, Jena, who was expelled from the Congress in January 2019 for “anti-party” activities, returned to the party, with AICC Odisha in-charge Ajoy Kumar playing a key role in his “homecoming”.

Jena, 73, remains popular among a section of the voters in Balasore for the work he did in the constituency during his previous stints as MP and Union minister. Since he returned to the Congress in March, Jena has resumed work on the ground, activating his networks in the constituency.

Lekhasri with CM Naveen Patnaik after her joining in BJD in April.

In his campaign, Jena showcased several projects – including the establishment of units of the Central Institute of Petrochemicals Engineering & Technology, AIIMS and the North Odisha Chamber of Commerce and Industry, upgradation of the national highway 60, and the grant of a medical college – which he claims to have ensured in Balasore.

In the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, Jena had won the Balasore seat with 35.18% of the votes, but finished third in 2014, when his vote share dipped to 26.44%. In 2019, the Congress’s vote share plummeted to 15.49%, when Navajyoti Patnaik, the son of former Odisha party chief Niranjan Patnaik, contested the seat.

Addressing a news conference in Balasore recently, Jena alleged that no work had been done in Balasore during Naveen Patnaik-led BJD’s 25-year government in the state and the BJP-led government’s 10-year rule at the Centre. “I dare BJP and BJD leaders to come for a debate on the development works and infrastructure projects they have done for Balasore. Whatever projects exist were implemented during my tenure as the MP,” said Jena, who has been a vocal critic of CM Patnaik.

The Congress has put in its best to boost Jena’s prospects, with AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge campaigning for him Wednesday in Balasore and Rahul Gandhi holding a rally in the neighbouring Bhadrak seat on Thursday, the last day of campaigning.

Srikant Jena during campaigning in Badasahi assembly segment under Balasore LS on May 17.

However, Jena has to contend with the shrunken Congress organisational in the seven Assembly segments under the Balasore constituency over the last several years.

The BJP, which is miles ahead in this regard, is battling the anti-incumbency against its candidate Sarangi, a leader who came from an RSS background and made his name for his austere lifestyle.

“Sarangi was extremely popular among central BJP leaders. PM Modi inducted him in his Council of Ministers in his second term, but he could not do any significant work for Balasore,” admits a BJP leader, while adding that the PM’s campaign in the constituency may be a booster for him.

The other headache for Sarangi is the presence of “rebel” BJP leader and ex-MP Kharabela Swain in the fray as an Independent. He was an aspirant for the BJP ticket from Balasore this time.

During the BJD-BJP alliance period, Swain was elected to the Lok Sabha thrice – in 1998, 1999 and 2004 – from Balasore as the BJP candidate. Later, Swain left the party and formed his own outfit, called Utkal Bharat. He returned to the BJP ahead of the 2019 polls, and was fielded from Kandhamal, where he lost to the BJD’s Achyuta Samanta by nearly 1.5 lakh votes.

The BJD is optimistic in the Balasore seat because of the triangular fight, which has often been advantageous for the regional party. In 2014, BJD leader Rabindra Jena had won from Balasore in a similar triangular contest, and his defeat in 2019 to Sarangi was only by a narrow margin of 12,956 votes. The BJD believes this was because the Congress failed to stop its vote base from moving to the BJP.

Interestingly, current BJD nominee Lekhasri Samantsinghar had been a fierce opponent of Patnaik and his government when she was with the BJP. She switched to the BJD in April this year and landed the ticket within a few days.

Making her electoral debut, Samantsinghar is capitalising on the BJD’s strong organisational base and its women vote bank to get the better of the two former Union ministers.