That Bolangir was to then take a steady downward spiral into deprivation and despair even as Singhdeo passed away in 1975, did not, however, change the fortunes of his family that, after him, continued on a winning streak at the hustings. Following Singhdeo’s death, his two sons Rajraj and Anang Udaya took on the family’s new-found political mantle; while Rajraj was elected twice to Parliament from Bolangir, younger brother Anang Udaya made it seven times to the state assembly, and even became minister twice in Naveen Patnaik’s cabinet. It wasn’t to stop there. Kalikesh Narayan Singhdeo, Anang Udaya’s son who joined politics in 2004, was elected to the state assembly as a BJD candidate, while Rajraj’s son, Kanak Vardhan, has made it to the state assembly four times as a BJP candidate from Patnagarh, becoming a minister in the BJD-BJP alliance government from 2000 to 2009. His wife, Sangita Singhdeo, has won from the Bolangir parliamentary seat thrice as a BJP candidate.
And just what sees them through? “They owe it to their clean image,” says Bhagwan Mishra, a royal family supporter. “They never indulge in corruption and maintain a clean image before the public. They also never refuse anyone who seeks their help in anything.”
Political rivalry meanwhile has slowly eaten its way into the royal family. The split between the BJD and BJP resulted in family members locking horns in the last elections in 2009. While Kanak Vardan fought against his sister-in-law Prakruti Devi, his wife Sangita fought against her brother-in-law Kalikesh. In that battle while Kanak Vardan won the approval of the people, his wife and three-time MP lost to Kalikesh. “I want to do something for the people of Bolangir,” Kalikesh, who has become an MP from the constituency for the first time, tells TSI. “People have great faith in our family and I don’t want to ever let them down.”
In all of this, it is the Congress that seems to have taken a beating having chosen the wrong candidates in the first place. And the yardstick for political performance in Bolangir is not quite the same as it is in the rest of the country. “Everybody is the same here,” says Harishchandra Sahoo, a farmer of Khaprakhol, a village in the area. “Everybody comes to us once every five years seeking our votes. But at least members of the royal family do not indulge in corrupt practices. Unlike the others in politics, we know for sure that they at least won’t siphon off a share of the funds allotted by the government for the benefit of the poor.”
Then again, with 60 per cent of the constituency's population living below the poverty line, and 45 per cent of its people still trapped in illiteracy, it isn’t surprising that not many in Bolangir have either the time or the means to fret and fume about the mysterious ways of governance or, for that matter, misgovernance.
And just what sees them through? “They owe it to their clean image,” says Bhagwan Mishra, a royal family supporter. “They never indulge in corruption and maintain a clean image before the public. They also never refuse anyone who seeks their help in anything.”
Political rivalry meanwhile has slowly eaten its way into the royal family. The split between the BJD and BJP resulted in family members locking horns in the last elections in 2009. While Kanak Vardan fought against his sister-in-law Prakruti Devi, his wife Sangita fought against her brother-in-law Kalikesh. In that battle while Kanak Vardan won the approval of the people, his wife and three-time MP lost to Kalikesh. “I want to do something for the people of Bolangir,” Kalikesh, who has become an MP from the constituency for the first time, tells TSI. “People have great faith in our family and I don’t want to ever let them down.”
In all of this, it is the Congress that seems to have taken a beating having chosen the wrong candidates in the first place. And the yardstick for political performance in Bolangir is not quite the same as it is in the rest of the country. “Everybody is the same here,” says Harishchandra Sahoo, a farmer of Khaprakhol, a village in the area. “Everybody comes to us once every five years seeking our votes. But at least members of the royal family do not indulge in corrupt practices. Unlike the others in politics, we know for sure that they at least won’t siphon off a share of the funds allotted by the government for the benefit of the poor.”
Then again, with 60 per cent of the constituency's population living below the poverty line, and 45 per cent of its people still trapped in illiteracy, it isn’t surprising that not many in Bolangir have either the time or the means to fret and fume about the mysterious ways of governance or, for that matter, misgovernance.
