By Our Correspondent
KENDRAPARA: Odisha Industry, Energy and MSME Minister and 4th times MLA, Pratap Keshari Deb, the young scion of former Aul Royal Family, was on Monday filed his Nomination papers for this Assembly seat in Odisha’s politically sensitive Kendrapara district and sought for 5th terms in State Assembly.
Minister Deb is facing Congress’s Dr Debasmita Sharma and BJP’s Krushna Chandra Panda. Voting for Aul Assembly seat will be held in 7th phase on June 1 while counting of votes will be on June 4.
The senior BJD leader Deb took out a rally from his Aul Royal palace to Kendrapara town , where he filed his Nomination papers. A huge gathering was witnessed during the filing of nomination papers as BJD workers from Aul and Rajkanika throng to the venue.
It may be noted here that Minister Deb represented Aul in State Assembly in 2000, 2004, 2009, 2019 and only election he lost, it was in 2014. After he lost in 2014, Deb was made Chairman House Board and later sent to Rajya Sabha.
Pratap Deb won the Aul seat in 2019 by a margin over 55,000 votes defeating Congress’s Devendra Sharma . Deb had got around 99,837 votes with 57% vote share and his winning margin was 32.3 %.
Earlier, Congress MLA candidate for Aul Assembly segment in Odisha’s politically sensitive Kendrapara district, Dr Debasmita Sharma, daughter of former MLA Debendra Sharma and Granddaughter of Ex MLA late Dibakar Nath Sharma, on Monday was also filed her nomination papers.
Dr Sharma, who left a Government Doctor job, is fighting against BJD’s siting MLA and Minister Deb and BJP’s new young face , Panda.
Dr Sharma also took out a rally from her Nial residence in Aul Bazar to the Sub Collector’s office in Kendrapara to file her nomination papers. She was accompanied by her father Debendra Sharma, who served as MLA of Aul between 2014-2019.
