Congress, NCP agree for seat adjustment

BHUBANESWAR: In a development of much political import, the Congress on Saturday agreed for a seat adjustment with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) for election to the Kendrapara Municipality scheduled on November 15.Sources from both the parties said that Congress will field candidates from 19 seats out of the total 21 and two seats have been left for the NCP. Though the development is not of much significance at the State level, political observers maintain it is a revolt of the NCP against Biju Janata Dal’s big brother attitude.NCP State president Utkal Keshari Parida told this paper that the seat adjustment would have no affect on the State-level understanding between the two parties. He said that issues were different at the local level. However, NCP is reported to have turned to Congress for adjustment when the BJD did not entertain its claim.The peculiarity of the situation is that while NCP is a coalition partner at the Centre, it had preferred seat adjustment with the BJD in Orissa for the 2009 polls. However, equations between the two parties are now undergoing change with a section of the NCP trying to adopt an anti-Naveen front.The issue has created serious differences between the organisational and legislative wings of the party. Sources said that the legislature party does not want any truck with the Congress in Orissa.NO BALLOT PAPERS: Meanwhile, the Orissa Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) has criticised the State Election Commission (SEC) for rejecting its demand for conducting the polls in Kendrapara through ballot papers. OPCC general secretary Arjya Kumar Gyanendra said that State president Niranjan Patnaik had written to the SEC in this regard. But in a letter to the OPCC president, the secretary of the SEC has rejected the suggestion.The SEC should have agreed to the Congress demand for conducting the poll by ballot papers to clear misgivings among the people on the reliability of electronic voting machines (EVMs), he said.