Bhubaneswar Club Elections Today: Asit Tripathy, Pradeep Jena In Prez Race

Bhubaneswar: All eyes are on who would become the next President of the elite Bhubaneswar Club as two former Chief Secretaries – incumbent Asit Tripathy and Pradeep Kumar Jena – are pitted against each other in what is being viewed as an interesting contest.

While e-voting for the elections was held on Saturday, voting on ballots is scheduled for Sunday. The results will be declared after 6 pm on Sunday.

While Tripathy, a two-time president, is seeking votes with the slogan “Bikash Eka Jatra (progress is a journey)”, Jena is playing the “vote for change” card to impress the 2321 electors, comprising 1922 individual and 399 corporate.

The elections, expected to be keenly fought, has raised eyebrows as it reflects the divide within the state’s bureaucracy. Both Tripathy and Jena, who currently serves as Chairman of Odisha Electricity Regulatory Commission, continue to wield influence over IAS and IPS officers in the state though they have retired from the premier service.

Tripathy’s panel includes businessman Tutul Kishore Das (secretary), businessman Pragati Kumar Mohanty (vice president) and businessman Sambeet Mohanty (joint secretary). They are up against Jena panel’s retired IPS officer Lalit Das (secretary), health specialist Dr P V Mohan (vice president) and Prashant Nath (joint secretary). Both sides have also fielded six candidates each for as many executive committee member posts that are up for grabs.