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ELECTION TREASURE TROVE
‘Vidyapati’ lands in Rajya Sabha
By Swaraj Mishra*
'Vidyapati', a popular character from the legend of Sri Jagannath, won the heart of 'Lalita', the daughter of Tribal Chief Biswabasu and, through her, succeeded in locating Neela Madhav in the forest. That is the…
‘Bow and Arrow’ rattles the ‘Yoked Oxen’
By Swaraj Mishra*
It is interesting to note that regional parties have remained significant players in Odisha's electoral politics right from the beginning. The party that wrecked maximum damage to the Indian National Congress in Odisha…
First Odia woman enters House of People
By Swaraj Mishra*
It was the 17th day of August 1981. The Lok Sabha session had just started and there was a lot of excitement around as some of the new members were to take their oath that day. A lady sitting next to a good looking…
‘What I had told was not the whole truth’
By Swaraj Mishra*
Prof.(Dr). Sriram Chandra Dash is a name that any student of Political Science would readily recollect. A brilliant teacher and an authority on Indian Constitution, he has inspired generations of students, who manned…
Rabi Ray faces his life’s one of the closest electoral contests in Jagatsinghpur
By Swaraj Mishra*
Rabi Ray, the only Odia to hold the position of Lok Sabha speaker so far, faced one of the closest electoral contests of his life while fighting for Jagatsinghpur Lok Sabha seat in 1984. Curiously, in his long political…
Hilsa, tobacco and Rasagola: the story of electoral fight between Mahatab-Nilamani Routray
By Swaraj Mishra*
It was a very interesting electoral battle between the two most popular leaders of undivided Baleswar district, Dr. Harekrushna Mahatab and Nilamani Routray. The two stalwarts locked horns in 1967 to grab Basudevpur…
‘Tame mate dia vote, mu tamaku debi vote’!
By Swaraj Mishra*
There is a very very popular Odia song by the brilliant singer Akshaya Mohanty, on election campaign. It tells the story of an old couple who had no answers when asked by a group of young children 'who they are going to…
Enter woman icon into male bastion
By Swaraj Mishra*
Raja festival celebrates femininity and fertility. Women of all ages all over the state celebrate this festival with a lot of enthusiasm. And it is a great coincidence that on this Raja Sankranti day in 1972, the 14th…
The night before assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, a historian’s account
By Swaraj Mishra*
This story is a little different from all other stories posted under this column. It relates to the elections in Odisha, but it has an eerie connection with the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, the then Congress…
Binode and the Banyan Tree
By Swaraj Mishra*
Banyan tree, in Indian culture, has always been associated with knowledge. And it is a matter of coincidence that the compiler of the one and only Odia Encyclopaedia' Gnan Mandal', Padma Shri Binode Kanungo, had fought…