Bhubaneswar: Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik threw a googly when he announced on Monday that he would be contesting from Bijepur as well as Hinjili in the upcoming assembly elections.
The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) chief said that while he will be contesting from his traditional Hinjili constituency in Ganjam, a coastal district, he decided to also contest from Bijepur after his party requested him.
Bijepur, in western Odisha, is the same seat which the ruling BJD wrested from the Congress in last year’s bypoll. The bypoll in Bijepur had become a prestige battle between a fledgling BJP and the ruling BJD after the death of Congress MLA Subal Sahu.
The state unit of the BJP had roped in several celebrities and top leaders of the party to campaign, hoping it will assert its space as the main opposition after a great performance in 2017 panchayat polls.
Also read: Interview | Anti-Incumbency, Not BJP or Congress, Main Challenge for BJD in Odisha
But its subsequent defeat swung the political mood in favour of the BJD again. With Patnaik contesting from the electorally-crucial landscape of western Odisha, the BJD has shown that it remains a step ahead of both the BJP and Congress, which are still struggling to announce their candidates.
Adivasi and Dalit-dominated western Odisha is one of the poorest regions in the state. Both the Congress and BJP have been trying to make inroads there. The two national parties have highlighted a lack of development and the BJD’s poor record of representing marginalised communities in the region.
In the 2014 assembly elections, the BJD had won 17 out of the 30 seats in western Odisha. The BJP won seven while the Congress won only four. However, most pre-poll surveys indicate a shift in mood against the BJD in the region. Congress president Rahul Gandhi has already addressed three rallies in the region. His party has also roped in Bhupesh Baghel, the chief minister of neighbouring Chhattisgarh, as one of its main campaigners in the region.
The BJP, on the other hand, has managed to poach many influential BJD leaders from these areas. It has also planned an exhaustive canvassing in western Odisha – given its organisational strength is much better in the region than in coastal Odisha.
Speaking to The Wire, Pratap Deb, chief spokesperson of the BJD, had acknowledged an anti-incumbency factor against the party, which has been in power for over 19 years. Patnaik’s decision to contest from two seats for the first time appears to address the problem head-on.
Lok Sabha candidates
The strategy also reflected in the first list of Lok Sabha candidates that the BJD announced on Monday. Out of the nine candidates it announced, eight are new but prominent faces. Odisha will see simultaneous Lok Sabha and assembly polls in four phases.
The BJD has placed its trust in senior leaders like Prasanna Acharya, Ramesh Majhi, Pushpendra Singh Deo and Rajya Sabha MP Achyuta Samanta, who is also the founder of the biggest private university in the state – the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT). They are fielded from sensitive constituencies which will most likely see a tight triangular contest.
Also read: Interview: ‘BJD in Odisha Is a Case Study on Misgovernance’
At the same time, the party has introduced a complete newbie in the Lok Sabha race. It has decided to field Pramila Bisoi, who has steered the Self-Help Groups (SHGs) movement among women in the state, from the Aska constituency.
Given Bisoi’s poor educational background, her feat of organising lakhs of women in SHGs is seen as a success story in Odisha.
Most surveys also point out that Patnaik enjoys tremendous popularity among women. And although many of the sitting MLAs and MPs face an anti-incumbency sentiment, Patnaik’s individual appeal has not waned.
The decision to field new candidates indicates that the BJD hopes to cash in on Patnaik’s popularity. Bisoi’s candidature, too, eyes the large electorate of women. Earlier, the BJD was the first Indian party to announce that it will field at least 33% women as candidates for both assembly and parliamentary polls.
Patnaik made it a point to say that he was entrusting Bisoi with a seat from where he began his political career. He served as an MP from Aska from 1997 to 1999, before he became the chief minister and started contesting from the Hinjili assembly seat.
Political observers say that Patnaik, in the last few days, has shown sure-footedness in taking on the opposition. He has taken the two national parties by surprise and made first moves on every front – like announcing candidates while other parties are still witnessing infighting over tickets.
Since the BJD’s new strategy has also led to many leaders leaving the party, Patnaik had neutralised the losses by capturing headlines. His decision to contest from two seats is a case in point.
“The political messaging by the BJD is clear. It has replaced eight sitting MPs. Many surveys have indicated that (while) the BJD may be a strong force in the assembly polls, the two national parties could walk away with a large chunk of seats in the parliamentary elections. Patnaik has shown courage and political clarity by taking bold decisions ahead of the polls,” Rabi Das, senior journalist and political observer, told The Wire.
He added that while the BJD has smartly tried to deal with the anti-incumbency sentiment, the two national parties have appeared indecisive. “Both Niranjan Patnaik (PCC president) and Dharmendra Pradhan (the BJP’s face in Odisha) still do not have a clear-cut plan. We do not even know which seats they will be contesting,” he said.
As Odisha gears up for crucial polls (147 assembly seats and 21 in the Lok Sabha), both the Congress and BJP are hoping to make a mark in the state. But for that, they will have to tackle an incumbent regional party – one that has held power for over 19 years while outmanoeuvring rivals with relative ease.
