Pride aside, development is the poll agenda in Mayurbhanj

Mayurbhanj district in Odisha: Contrasting development in Pahadpur and Surath Nagar, political dynamics, and tribal aspirations in elections.

A well-laid concrete road, an eyecare centre, an under-construction stadium, a skill training centre, 5G internet and streetlights give Pahadpur in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district an urban feel. Once a non-descript village, it is the home of the in-laws of President Droupadi Murmu.

In contrast, Surath Nagar, a village 30km away, does not have a 300-metre all-weather road from the village to the National Highway. The pathway, say locals, symbolises how the tribal community is torn between the pride of seeing Ms. Murmu as the President and a struggle to benefit from development.

President Murmu has been one of the most talked about poll themes in her home district of Mayurbhanj which is going to the polls on June 1. While the BJP leaders never conclude their speeches without mentioning Ms. Murmu, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik calls her his sister.

Naba Charan Majhi, a close associate of Ms. Murmu, has been fielded by the BJP from the Mayurbhanj Lok Sabha, while State Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Sudam Marndi is the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) candidate. They are being challenged by Anjali Murmu, daughter of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha patriarch Shibu Soren.

In 2022, the BJP-led government went all out in the election of Ms. Murmu as the President. The party positioned itself as a champion of tribal rights and the move was expected to benefit the party in the closely contested elections in Odisha this year. However, the euphoria had long been replaced by a chorus for practical needs.

“Although the government swiftly electrified Uparbeda, Ms. Murmu’s village, within hours of her nomination in 2022, the broader approach to development in this tribal heartland remains uneven. While Ms. Murmu’s in-law’s village may have an urban look, the tribal population in this forested district continues to lag in most development indices,” said Paresh Chandra Soren, a resident of Nischintpur under Kusumi block of Mayurbhanj.

In Surath Nagar, Sibnath Sirka, 70, said he has spent two decades pursuing government officials to lay a concrete road connecting his village to the highway. In Pahadpur, Muniram Murmu, a construction worker, said he faces challenges in getting access to basic livelihood needs. “The President belongs to our own clan. No doubt our village has improved. But our agricultural lands remain unirrigated,” he said. Local Sarpanch Rukmuni Murmu said he has struggled to allocate funds for a motorable road from the Pahadpur to the panchayat headquarters in Talakpokhari, 7km away. The list is long.