Edge-of-the-seat thriller in the offing as Dilip Tirkey tries to dribble past Jual Oram

A rerun of an epic fight is in the offing in Odisha’s reserved Sundargarh Lok Sabha constituency where BJP stalwart and sitting MP Jual Oram (63) has locked horns with Indian hockey legend Dilip Tirkey (46) of the BJD.

- PRASANLEET SARWAN

The former Union tribal affairs minister and the present Hockey India president have been old rivals with Jual edging past Dilip in a triangular contest that also featured former chief minister Hemanand Biswal of the Con- gress in 2014. Dilip was surprisingly dropped in 2019 and the BJD fielded Biswal’s daughter Sunita against Jual but failed to gain any traction.

This time, BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik has fallen back on Dilip to unseat Jual who is seeking his sixth victory to end his electoral politics on a high note.

The sitting MP, one of the most prominent tribal leaders in the BJP, has already made his “last election” an emotional campaign pitch along with the overriding Modi factor. “It is my last election. After 35 years in electoral politics, I intend to make way for the new generation,” Jual says.

In Dilip, a Catholic Christian and inarguably the greatest sports icon of Odisha, the BJD has sought to address multiple sections of the voters even though the previous attempt had failed. Sundargarh district has been considered the cradle of hockey in India. For the majority tribal population, hockey is a way of life, especially the tribal Christians.

Rising from the interiors of the district to make way into the Indian national team and become the captain, bringing laurels to the country in many international tournaments, Dilip has been a matter of pride for the people of the region. But that, somehow, has not translated into the electoral backing for him.