Unlike other Assembly seats, the BJD seems to have an easygoing exercise in selecting a candidate for the Banki Assembly constituency in view of a few but worthy aspirants seeking the party ticket for the seat.

A leading cooperative movement and social activist, lawyer Mahendra Kumar Nayak, is an aspirant for the seat. Awarded at national, State and district levels for his contribution to the cooperative sector and having been in people’ contact as a social activist and as a BJD observer to Banki block for long, Nayak has offered his candidature for the seat.

Sources said Nayak and incumbent MLA Pravat Tripahty are never at loggerheads and they would work to retain the seat if either of them gets the ticket. In fact, Nayak seeks a ticket in case Tripathy is not fielded this time. 

Nayak, a son of noted freedom fighter late Bholanath Nayak, had done his schooling and college education at Banki. He worked in many capacities with national, State and district level cooperate bodies for the last 40 years, the major being Nafed (as president), National Cooperative Dairy Federation of India Gujarat (as director), Krishak Bharati Cooperative Ltd (as elected State respresentative) and Odisha State Cooperative Bank Ltd (as president). He is presently working as the president of the Odisha Federation of Urban Cooperative Banks and Credit Cooperative Societies Ltd.

He is also lifetime member of different reputed organisations like Red Cross Society of India, Youth Hostel Association of India, Odisha Cricket Association and the Odisha High Court Bar Association.

“Given a chance, I could be the dark horse to win the election in the Banki Assembly constituency at the present scenario,” his application submitted to the BJD supremo reads.