Click to play videoBhubaneswar: Manoj Pradhan is booked in more than a dozen cases of murder and arson. He is the prime accused in the Kandhamal riots in which many Christians were killed. He is also the BJP's candidate for the communally sensitive G Udayagiri Assembly seat.
The 30-year-old is presently in the G Udayagiri jail, charged with inciting communal violence and rioting. However, the BJP uses a familiar fig leaf to defend its choice, the fact that he is yet to be proved guilty.
"Before giving Manoj the ticket, different party leaders were consulted. In fact, the charges against him were discussed. But we got information from our local leaders that he has been arrested under false charges. In any case he is not yet proved guilty in the court of law. Let the people decide his fate,” BJP legislative party leader BB Harichandan said.
For the BJP, it is a clear move to push a Hindu hardline agenda, especially after its alliance with the ruling BJD in the state broke.
It is not just a ticket to Pradhan but also Ashok Sahu, a retired IPS officer, who blamed the murder of Swami Laxmananda Saraswati on what he called Christian terrorists, the murder that sparked off the Kandhamal riots.
The church in Orissa is viewing the BJP's choices of candidate with a mixture of fear and sadness. Their fear is rooted in the fact that many Christians will not even vote and candidates like Pradhan will win. Some voters even believe that with many more people still fearing to go back to their villages, candidates like Pradhan might even win the election.
“The court will take its time to prove someone guilty. But to a criminal against whom all have definite information of riots and murder, how could the BJP give a ticket to him? We are all sad about it,” Father Joseph Kalathil of Vicar General in Orissa said.
In the last Assembly election, Pradhan fought as an Independent candidate and got over 15,000 votes. The winning candidate got over 34,000 votes.
This time Pradhan hopes that with the Kandhamal issue in the background and the support of the BJP he would win the election comfortably even while remaining behind bars.
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