Call it a desire to change occupation or do social service, highly educated engineers have left their plum jobs to enter politics. In Mahakalpada block of Kendrapada district, three engineers who were working outside the State quit their jobs and filed nominations for various posts like Sarpanch and Member Panchayat Samiti (MPS).
Meet the 41-year-old Ratikanata Panda, a resident of Mahakalapada village. He was settled well with a good salary in CMS IT services until recently. However, the love for his village and desire to develop the village has made him say a good bye to his job and enter into poll fray for Sarpanch post in Mahakalapada Panchayat.
He decided to work for the poverty stricken people and to develop the panchayat, he said. “In a break from routine busy life, I have decided to enter politics to prove the wrong notion among the general voters that politics is meant for earning a quick buck,” said Panda.
“I never thought that I would enter into the politics a day. Time has changed, educated people with honesty should enter politics to serve the needy and downtrodden,” Panda added.
Similarly, two B Tech (electrical) Engineers have also filed their nominations from Marshaghai block. Abhishek Behera has filed his nomination paper to contest as an MPS candidate for Talasanga GP whereas the Bhabani Prasad Nayak filed nomination paper to lock horns as an MPS candidate for Raghabpur GP.
According to the duo, the idea to enter into poll fray came to them when they saw nothing has been changed in the locality, except some Government sponsored roads, houses and electrification.
“My prime role would be to wipe out corruption from the area,” said Behera.
Here the trend of buying votes is going to come to an end this time, claimed Nayak.