The BJP, as part of its election strategy, is organising booth-level conferences in different states. On January 30, 2009, in Sundergarh Lok Sabha constituency of Orissa, there was a massive gathering of booth-level workers from 1,454 booths, where more than 15 thousand party workers gathered and chalked out plans to win the coming Lok Sabha election. The booth workers are mostly youths and women besides senior party office-bearers from the Vanvasi-dominated Sundergarh constituency. BJP Prabhari of Orissa Shri Vinay Katiyar, Sundergarh MP Shri Jual Oram, Orissa BJP President Shri Suresh Pujari, Orissa BJP Organising Secretary Panchanana Rout, former MP Suren Lath and president Sundergarh BJP Girish Sahoo, were present on the occasion.
All the roads that connect to the Sundergarh District headquarters, the venue of the meeting, had a saffron look where the jubilant BJP workers in colourful Vanvasi attire were shouting the slogans for the BJP. The BJP has been winning Sundergarh Lok Sabha constituency consecutively for the last three elections with increasing winning margins. This time also the huge crowd at the party congregation from all the communities was an indication that the BJP would again win this constituency under the leadership of former Union Minister and Member of Parliament Shri Jual Oram. Shri Jual Oram, who was an electrical engineer with BHEL, first won as an MLA from Banai Assembly seat and then won as an MP from the Sundergarh Lok Sabha in 1998, 1999 and 2004. The continuous win from this Vanvasi pocket shows Oram'spopularity among the Vanvasis.
Addressing the gathering of the booth workers, the BJP national general secretary Shri Vinay Katiyar thanked the people of Sundergarh for continuously reposing their faith in national BJP vice president Shri Jual Oram. Shri Katiyar assured the party workers that if the NDA-led government comes at the Centre, then naturally Shri Jual Oram would be again made the minister and thereby the Sundergarh people would get more opportunity to get more facilities and developmental projects for them. Shri Katiyar urged the youth and the women to support their popular leader Shri Jual Oram so that his winning margin could increase from last time, that was 3 lakh 36 thousand. He added that not only the people of Sundergarh but the Vanvasis of the whole country are proud of Shri Oram'sleadership during his tenure as the Union Tribal Affairs Minister in Atal Behari Vajpayee-led NDA government.
Suresh Pujari, the BJP president of Orissa, appealed to the party workers to strictly follow the party'sagenda and take it to the people, and to keep alive contacts with the people to make them accessible to the party senior leaders and reach the people at the time of happiness and despair. He also cautioned the party workers against Opposition'sconspiracy game to defeat the BJP. He added that the BJP has a strong wicket in coming elections, so different conspiracy theories are running around against the BJP but we are confident that our booth-level workers would keep intact the confidence of the people that the BJP is a party with a difference.
Shri Jual Oram, who was the inspiration behind the massive gathering, assured the party workers that he would remain committed to them and would sacrifice his total strength for the cause of the people of Sundergarh and would always strive for the development of Sundergarh. He reminded the party workers that development of the people has always been his prime concern and assured them that he would continue to do so in the remaining part of his life. ?I am a servant of the Sundergarh people and would remain so for the rest of my life and will dedicate my life for the cause of Vanvasis. I am proud that people from all strata in Sundergarh have reposed their faith in me and I promise that barring party lines I will serve all sections of people without any discretion?, Shri Oram said. Revealing the secrecy behind his popularity among the Vanvasis, Shri Oram said, ?I have a personal touch with almost all the people here and people directly contact me for their problems. My priority is building infrastructure for the development of the common man. And days are not far when Sundergarh would be a model district in the whole country,? he added.
The performance report of Shri Jual Oram is par excellence, as per the opinion of the local Vanvasis, industrialists and the corporate world. Sundergarh Lok Sabha has 62 per cent Vanvasi population, 12 per cent Christian and 3 per cent Muslim population. Around 25 per cent non-taxable revenue of Orissa comes from Sundergarh as the district is replete with natural mineral resources, forest produces and is a seat of industrial destination. Rourkela Steel Plant, Orissa Cement Limited, Mines of Mahanadi Coal Field Limited, and more than 56 mines are there in Sundergarh district. Precious minerals like iron, manganese, bauxite etc are available in plenty in the mines of Sundergarh.
Shri RP Gupta, the owner of Shiva Cement of Kalunga Industrial area said, ?Shri Jual Oram has a vision for the development of the Sundergarh to make it an industrially potential place. We are all happy that the former minister has done a lot of infrastructure development work for the development of industries here in Sundergarh. Shri Joseph Tirki of Urbajhara village said, ?Shri Oram is very popular in our area for his development initiatives for all sections of the society. We are grateful to him and sure that he will again win the elections with more margin.? Chudia Kissan of Ghuraposh village said that Shri Jual Oram has built 200 hostels for boys and girls for the Vanvasi and other students where more than one lakh students get the opportunity for getting proper education, so we are always with him for making Sundergarh a 100 per cent literate constituency. Mukund Pradhan of Hemgiri village had a lot to say when this correspondent asked for his reaction on the works done by Shri Oram. He said that Jual Oram has become an icon for Vanvasis not only in Sundergarh but all over the country, as he has taken a number of initiatives for the welfare of the Vanvasis.
Practice makes a man perfect. So is the case with Shri Jual Oram, as he has made a practice of staying with the people of Sundergarh. A former Union Minister in the Vajpayee government and now national vice precident of the BJP, he has become a brand name among the Vanvasis.
