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Gomango on verge of a parliamentary record

M I Khan in Koraput

It is a common perception that the pact between the Biju Janata Dal and the Bharatiya Janata Party has made for a formidable combination, but even its votaries are not taking any chances against the Congress nominee from Koraput, the short-of-stature, long-on-tenure Giridhar Gomango who, if he wins this time round, will enter the Lok Sabha from here for the eighth consecutive time.

And given that there is no reason why Gomango should not win, BJP-BJD nominee Jayram Pangi's is a lost cause even before he has set out on electioneering. And, this despite the fact that Pangi is the best candidate available to take on the Congress front-bencher.

Pangi, who had lost to Gomango the last two times when he contested on the Janata Dal ticket, has problems other than the charisma of his opponent. He is more commonly associated with the 'Wheel' of the JD, and it is a task to tour this tribal constituency and explain to the voters that he is now with the 'Conch', the BJD symbol.

"Confusion about his rival Pangi's symbol has already given Gomango a distinct advantage," said Kailesh Majhi in Gunpur, a Congress bastion.

"One thing we know is that the hand represented us for long, and we have become habituated to voting for the hand," says Mangala Oram of Khantu village in Rayagada.

Gomango, described by his supporters as Go-Man-Go, leaves a deep mark over the tribals with his charming smile and simple looks. "Acceptability by the public is the only touchstone for me to win elections," he said with pride in his voice, a factor that has sent him to Parliament right from 1972.

Even though Opposition leaders have been criticising him for neglecting Koraput, Gomango hardly takes the criticism seriously. "If my people like me to represent them, they must have realised that I will serve them better," he told a public meeting in Gunpur, part of his constituency. Even his bitterest critics admit that Koraput is the only seat not only in the state but in the country which the Congress can win without difficulty.

Another factor behind Gomango's success is that the tribals identify him as one of them. His passion for tribal music in this reserved tribal constituency has taken him closer to his voters who recall with obvious joy his dancing with them at functions and festivals. "We voted him several times because he loves us," summed up an old tribal of Raygade, Mangru Majhi.

What may surprise visitors from outside is that Gomango seems to follow the Election Commission's diktat on expenditure meticulously. After roaming around the assembly segments in this Lok Sabha constituency, one hardly gets the impression that a former Union minister and a Congress heavyweight is in the fray for election, so lowkey is the campaign. His supporters point to Gomango's honesty as the reason behind this.

No wonder, then, that Gomango's record is the envy of many politicians, including many from his own party.

Elections '98

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