Kendrapara (Odisha): The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is on an upward trajectory in Odisha and it does not make sense for the party to go for an alliance with the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in such a scenario, Baijayant Jay Panda, party national vice-president and Odisha Lok Sabha candidate from Kendrapara told ThePrint in an exclusive interview.
“I think there was a lot of outreach from the other side to try and have an alliance with us, to try and save a sinking ship…,” Panda said, adding that there was a lot of misinformation, disinformation and genuine confusion being spread online and among the media.
“But it is very clearly stipulated that we are not agreeing to any alliance and we are going on our own. And you can see the enthusiasm of the karyakartas (party workers) on the ground,” he added.
In the interview, Panda also spoke about how people in Odisha are approaching the question over lack of clarity about who will be Chief Minister and BJD chief Naveen Patnaik’s successor, the reason for Patnaik’s success in the state, who could be the BJP’s chief minister face and the enthusiasm around Ram Mandir in the state.
Panda said the BJP is eyeing anywhere between 15 and 18 of the 21 Lok Sabha seats in Odisha. “Last time we saw a quantum leap. We went from one seat in Lok Sabha to eight seats, and this time, we are going to see a massive uptick… I think the sky’s the limit. There is momentum and enormous support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership.”
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‘Upto Naveen Patnaik to clarify’
According to Panda, one of the key questions that the people of Odisha are grappling with is who will be Naveen Patnaik’s successor, and lack of clarity on this is damaging the party.
“Naveen Patnaik has been CM for 24 years, and now that another election cycle is upon us, the question of who is his successor, his uttaradhikari, is causing them huge damage. No matter how they try to dance their way around it, people are not happy,” Panda said.
The BJP national vice president added that all of Odisha knows that for the past 8-9 years or so, V.K. Pandian, an IAS officer who has been Patnaik’s principal secretary, has been running the show behind the scenes.
“… the widespread belief is that Pandian is his (CM’s) successor. But Naveen Patnaik has to clarify… This is the question people of Odisha keep asking repeatedly because none of the leadership has been allowed to grow beyond a point to take the BJD forward to the next generation, into the next era,” Panda said.
“Now, it is upto Naveen Patnaik and the BJD to answer who is the successor.”
According to Panda, within the BJD, there has been a long track record of cutting down to size anybody who gained significant popularity.
“It started almost from day one with the denial of ticket to Bijoy Mohapatra, unceremonious sacking, very unfairly, of Nalini Kanta Mohanty. You saw what happened to Dilip Ray, Ram Krushna Patnaik, my own experience and many others,” he highlighted.
Panda said the humiliation meted out to senior leaders, who have made a name for themselves in the BJD, is rankling and there is widespread resentment against it.
“So, they have an internal contradiction, which somehow or the other they have managed, but you can’t do that forever. That reality is tearing the BJD apart today,” he said.
Secret to Patnaik’s success
On what he thinks is the secret of CM Naveen Patnaik’s success, Panda said that one will have to keep in mind that when the BJD was formed with the backing of the BJP in 1997, Patnaik was a novice.
“He had never been in politics. He just had his legendary father Biju Patnaik’s goodwill.”
Panda added that the first few years of that alliance grew under the guardianship of the late Atal Bihari Vajpayee, senior leader L.K. Advani, and the constant management and handholding by the late Pramod Mahajan. “… it helped the BJD survive because the party went through enormous stormy seas in the first few years… it was due to Atal ji, Advani ji’s guardianship that he (Naveen Patnaik) got established and so did the party,” he said.
Then the BJP was backstabbed by the BJD, who broke the alliance, said Panda.
“Now, once you create a base on the basis of somebody else’s assistance and goodwill and support, then it becomes easier to take it forward with money and muscle power and so many other traditional tricks.”
Panda added that, despite the BJD being in power for almost a quarter century, Odisha has not seen the development it should have.
“… in 25 years it should have been among the top five of developed states in India. But that is not the case… You see millions of Odias still working outside Odisha, many of them in very hard conditions. Blue collar-type jobs and even those who are qualified — doctors, engineers — are mostly outside Odisha. They all want opportunity,” he highlighted.
“I think every story has a face, and I think this story has outlived its shelf life.”
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BJP’s CM face in Odisha
According to Panda, the party has several very prominent faces, and the BJP as a party is committed to internal democracy.
“… In several states where ordinary party workers who have slogged and have acquired experience and contributed to the election result have been given important responsibilities… PM himself came up from being a humble party worker to being the most popular leader on Earth,” he said.
Talking about Uttar Pradesh, the state of which he is incharge, Panda said that the BJP is going to set a new record there — “We are targeting all 80 seats.”
‘Enthusiasm’ in Odisha over Ram Mandir
On claims that the Ram temple in Ayodhya did not have any resonance on the ground in Odisha, Panda said that this was an incorrect assessment.
“On the day of the pran prathistha, if you were in Odisha, you would have seen enormous enthusiasm all over. You would have seen that even in every village in remote areas, there was massive enthusiasm, bhajans, kirtans.”
He highlighted that, in Odisha, the presiding deity is Mahaprabhu Jagannath, and there is an enormous influence that devotion to Lord Jagannath has in Odia society.
“That is why some people misread the situation. But there is no contradiction in taking pride in Jagannath culture as well as the pran prathistha of the newly-built Ram temple in Ayodhya.”
(Edited by Richa Mishra)
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