BJD grapples with discontent amid saffron surge in Odisha

Unease within BJD started after BJP emerged as runner up in zila parishad polls across Odisha

All is not well with Odisha’s ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD)  and the churning within is getting reflected in the sharp views its senior parliamentarians are expressing openly.

Following the Bharatiya Janata Party’s recent surge in the local body polls, Lok Sabha member Tathagata Satpathy on Monday accused the saffron party of trying to break the regional outfit. Without taking any names, Satpathy said a fellow lawmaker was hand-in-glove with the Centre.

On Tuesday, it was the turn of senior BJD leader Baijayant “Jay” Panda, probably whom Satpathy was trying to insinuate, with strong views against party president and state’s chief minister, Naveen Patnaik.

Panda, who wrote a long piece in a regional paper and later posted an English translation, BJD: Time for Introspection, on Twitter, questioned Patnaik’s style of functioning.

According to Panda, the recent local body polls in Odisha should not have come as a surprise to anyone as widespread corruption and sheltering of powerful people committing criminal acts are allegations that ring true in the coastal state.  The other parties, read BJP, are gaining ground because of their dynamic new leadership, Panda said in the article.

“I have done an honest introspection in the right spirit, as said by BJD president. I hope to act as a conscience keeper for the party, in whose founding I too had had a role,” Panda said in a statement given to this paper when his views were sought on the controversy.

“I want the party to rediscover its strengths and the president to take the kind of strong steps he was known for,” he said. 

In an obvious retort to Satpathy’s tweets, that he was playing into the hands of the BJP which wanted to advance the Assembly polls due in 2019, Panda said, “I deny all other extraneous allegations that have been made about me.” Responding to a series of tweets from his followers on social media, Panda took a dig at Satpathy saying the Dhenkanal lawmaker had left the BJD earlier but he would avoid reacting to his remarks.

Panda, who represents Cuttack parliamentary constituency in the Lok Sabha, flies a chopper as hobby and is an articulate speaker. The 53-year-old owns a large business group, which has interests in mining, power and real estate. Recently, he attended a cultural event hosted by Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu to mark the Telugu new year. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also attended the event.

The unease within the BJD started showing after the BJP emerged as the runner-up in the zila parishad polls across the state, surprising both the BJD and the Congress. Bolstered by the results, the BJP has planned its next national executive meeting in the state on April 15-16 to make further inroads. 

“BJP National Convention scheduled on 15-16 April in Orissa. PM to attend. Intention to put pressure to make state govt defunct,” Satpathy tweeted.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who has held the office for the past 17 years, ended his 11-year-old association with the BJP ahead of the 2009 Assembly polls and rode to power. However, the going may not be easy for him in 2019, when state polls are scheduled to be held, along with national elections.