Koraput: The battle for assembly seat number 147 — Chitrakonda — will, in all likelihood, be fought among members of a single tribal family. This will be a first for the scheduled tribe (ST)-reserved seat in the Maoist-affected Malkangiri district, which was created in 1974 and consists of the Khairaput, Mathili, Chitrakonda and Korkonda blocks and the Balimela notified area council. It will vote on April 11.While the ruling BJD has given a ticket to Purna Chandra Baka, Congress has fielded his niece Laxmipriya Nayak. Baka’s married daughter, Santilata Majhi, is likely to be fielded by BJP in the same seat.“I have been in active politics for over a decade and I am glad to have got the Congress ticket to fight the assembly polls,” said Laxmipriya, who is also the chairperson of the Mathili block and was the sarpanch of Meka panchayat from 2012-2017. The lone woman candidate on the first list of six LS candidates released by Congress on Monday night, she said the electoral battle would not affect her ties with Baka. “I share a cordial relation with my uncle. I will try my best to ensure that my party emerges winner,” she said. Laxmipriya filed her nomination before the returning officer at Malkangiri on Wednesday.Baka, who worked in the law section of the district collectorate, quit his job a couple of months ago to join BJD. The ruling regional party has fielded him by replacing its sitting MLA Damburu Sisa. “I am aware that I will be fighting the election against a family member. I am mentally prepared for it. Family relations will not suffer,” he said.Santilata, who is a zilla parishad member, is hoping for a BJP ticket from Chitrakonda. “Never before have we seen such an election here. It will be interesting to see the campaigning,” said Shiva Das, a local.

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