No Modi magic for Sambit Patra as BJP TV star loses from Puri

Sambit Patra, BJP’s national spokesperson, lost to two-time Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MP Pinaki Mishra.

Sambit Patra lost from Odisha's Puri constituency . | Twitter @sambitswaraj

New Delhi: Even as the country was taken by a Modi wave Thursday, it couldn’t help BJP’s television star Sambit Patra in his debut parliamentary election.

Patra lost from Odisha’s Puri constituency to two-time Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MP Pinaki Mishra by a margin of 11,714 votes. While Patra got 5,26,607 votes, Mishra got 5,38,321.

The maverick BJP spokesperson was fielded to increase the party’s profile in a state where it was relegated to the sidelines as it had won just one seat in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

Unique campaign style did not help Patra

Patra’s campaign histrionics in Puri backfired. Knowing very well that he can’t match his BJD opponent in experience, Patra resorted to eyebrow-raising antics during his high-voltage campaign. He projected himself as a simple man taking on somebody like Mishra who has money to fight and win elections.

Smearing his forehead with sandalwood paste and donning saffron dhoti-kurta and an Odia gamcha (towel), Patra wore his Hindutva ideology on his sleeves in a constituency that has over 90 per cent Hindu population.

He also got embroiled in a controversy when a police complaint was filed against him for using Lord Jagannath’s name in his election campaign vehicle. Puri is home to the famous Jagannath temple, which sees thousands of pilgrims every year.

He even rode bikes in the blistering April heat, sung Telugu songs in public gatherings, took dip in ponds and ate at homes of villagers to connect with the locals as most of them perceived him as an outsider.

Patra holds a Masters in surgery from SCB Medical College in Cuttack and has also briefly worked as a medical officer in Delhi’s Hindu Rao Hospital.

Famous for attacking his opponents in shrill television debates, Patra was first appointed as BJP’s Delhi spokesperson in 2010. Seeing the aplomb and zeal with which he defended the party, Patra was promoted as the BJP’s national spokesperson in 2014.

Failed development narrative

Talking to ThePrint during his campaign trail in Puri in April, Patra had said the organisational strength that the BJP has on the ground in Odisha would help to convert the Modi wave into votes for the BJP.

Patra had told ThePrint Puri lacks a developmental narrative and that is where he would focus on. “Despite being one of the largest constituencies in Odisha, Puri does not have a hospital. People have to travel all the way to Bhubaneswar or Cuttack to get treatment. The incumbent government has also failed to tap the huge tourism potential (that Puri has),” he had said.

This Lok Sabha election was, however, not Patra’s debut in electoral politics. He had unsuccessfully contested the municipal election in Delhi in 2012.