Popular actor Sritam Das is BJP’s Cuttack mayoral pick

Bhubaneswar: The opposition BJP on Sunday named actor-turned-politician Sritam Das as its mayoral candidate for the Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC).
With this, Das, a resident of the historic city, is set to make his debut in electoral politics. He is up against BJD’s Subash Singh and Congress candidate Giribala Behera.
Das said though he never sought any post, the party gave him the offer of contesting for the post of Cuttack’s mayor and he accepted it with all humility.
“Cuttack loves those who are rooted in its culture. I am proud to be a native of Cuttack and I am confident that its people will shower their blessings on me,” Das told media persons.
After a career of more than a decade in Odia cinema, Das joined the saffron party in 2014.
A popular name in Cuttack, Das was roped in by the BJP as its star campaigner during the 2019 general election and the subsequent bypolls in the state. He is now the executive member of the saffron party’s Odisha unit.
One of the oldest cities of Odisha, Cuttack has altogether 59 wards, the elections to which will be held across 452 booths. The city faces a host of problems, including poor drainage, urban flooding, bad roads and traffic, among others, which are likely to be major poll planks in the civic body election.
The problems of slum dwellers, who comprise a large chunk of the city’s total population, will remain a dominant issue during the polls.
Voters in Cuttack expect a good fight for the mayoral post as all the three parties — the BJD and rivals BJP and Congress — have chosen their potential candidates.
While Congress’s Behera filed her nomination on Sunday, the BJD’s Singh will file his papers on Monday, which is the last day for the same.
Meanwhile, the saffron party also announced the name of Sabita Suara as its mayoral nominee for the Berhampur Municipal Corporation, which has been reserved for a woman this time. Earlier, the BJD named its women wing leader, Sanghamitra Dalei, as its mayoral candidate for Berhampur.