Odisha: Mixed Bag of Fortunes for BJD and BJP as Rebellion May Play Spoilsport

After the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) decided to go their own ways to fight the 2024 general elections, the former has kick-started the mind-game narrative to outflank its closest rival, the BJP, claiming that it will win a comfortable three-fourth majority in the Assembly.

Odisha has 147 legislators out of which BJD had won 114 seats in the 2019 elections, far above a two-third majority. The BJP had to be content with just 22 seats in the Assembly. 

The scene this time is similar, as both the parties are going alone, although there is an element of competitive bellicosity in the saffron camp, while for BJD it is a prestige issue to prove that, for Odisha, Naveen Patnaik matters.         

The BJD war room is abuzz with whispers of a repeat of winning 21 Lok Sabha seats.

BJD’s ‘new superman’ V K Pandian on Sunday last was on record saying that people should not look at the candidates, no matter who, and simply vote for Naveen Patnaik.

And at the same time, Pandian also added some fuel to the fire by saying that this time, BJD would win three- fourth majority in the Assembly, alluding that the party would win a little more than 100 seats in a House of 147.

Pandian’s claim could send jitters in the saffron camp and intensify the animosity between the two parties.

It may be recalled that BJP, during the purported alliance talks that failed, had some reservations about BJD fighting for even 100 Assembly seats. But now, BJD has turned the tables on its rival.

But not all is well with both BJD and BJP, with the rebel factor surfacing in both the camps.

Rebellion Stoked  

In some key constituencies where there has been change in the candidates, mostly those poached from rival political parties, there are voices of despondency within, be it BJD or BJP, both of which have been admitting turncoats and ejecting their own party leaders.                                 

For example, in coastal Odisha, Balasore is a high- profile Lok Sabha constituency from where BJP leader Kharvela Swain has been a household name, winning twice. But this time, BJP has fielded Pratap Sarangi, a two-time MP and former Union Minister, who is taking on another turncoat, BJD’s Lekhashree Nanda, who was a popular BJP face and its most vocal spokesperson.

Likewise, in another key Lok Sabha constituency, Berhampur, in Ganjam district, BJD has fielded Bhrugu Buxipatra, who days ago quit the saffron tag and joined the BJD. Buxipatra had lost in Berhampur as a BJP candidate in 2019 by a thin margin. Some BJD leaders have taken offense to this new BJD candidate.

After winning the Cuttack Lok Sabha six times as a BJD candidate, Bhatruhari Mahtab recently joined BJP and is again contesting from Cuttack. Not viewed as a mass leader, Mahtab had been winning the seat simply piggybacking on Naveen Patnaik’s name and now faces an undercurrent of revolt among BJP cadres.

For the Bhubaneswar Lok Sabha seat, the BJD seems to be on the back foot against Aparajita Sarangi, the sitting MP from BJP, as it had fielded a political novice Manmath Routray, son of veteran Congress legislator Suresh Routray. BJD’s strategy is to garner Congress votes as well.

As of now, BJP and BJD have to negotiate many such odds in several Lok Sabha constituencies, including the Koraput seat, which has been a Congress bastion for long and could be a tough fight for BJD.

Another key Lok Sabha seat in Western Odisha, Kandhamal, a citadel of tribal vote bank, so far appears to be safe for BJD, as it has re-fielded Achyut Samanta, an educationist-turned-politician who has been nurturing the district for long and does not face any potential threat from BJP’s Sukanta Sarangi, a lesser- known leader.

The writer is a freelance journalist based in Odisha.