As the results of last year’s assembly polls continued to cast its long shadows over his party, Biju Janata Dal president took to the streets of Bhubaneswar Monday to protest the rising prices under the Mohan Majhi BJP government. Speaking at his first protest rally in the last eight years, Patnaik lashed out at the “double-engine” BJP governments at the Centre and the state, saying that the Mohan Manjhi government had “no control over the market” and was in “deep slumber” even as the price of essential commodities have skyrocketed. The rally comes at a time when the party’s poor showing at last year’s Assembly polls and its relegation to principal Opposition party after being 24 years in power appears to set it on shaky grounds, sparking an exodus within the party. The party was reduced to 51 MLAs in the 147-member House, a significant downgrade from the 113 it won in 2019. “In the seven months of BJP’s rule in Odisha, people have only heard long speeches, but no action is being taken to control the price rise. The government claims to be a people’s government but it seems it has no concern towards their well-being,” Patnaik told the rally outside the state secretariat. The BJP has assumed power by making false promises to the people, he said. “The BJP showed a rosy picture in the trailer but when the film released-the MM (Mohan Majhi) Sarkar is like Mahanga Mada (price rise) sarkar,” said Patnaik. “Double engine… double mada (blow). hitting people from two sides—price rise and the GST.” But it isn’t just for Patnaik that the rally is significant: this is also the first such public agitation against the state government for the BJD in over two decades. According to party insiders, the protest rally was a “show of strength” for it, with Patnaik’s presence aimed at boosting workers’ morale. “Those who thought that the BJD has no future and Naveen babu (Patnaik) can’t continue without power should take note of this rally,” a senior BJD leader told The Indian Express. “It has been proved that he is still the most popular and dependable leader of Odisha, and that the BJD remains a strong force. If Naveen babu continues to lead like this, the party will remain strong, united and bounce back.” According to BJD sources, given the rally’s success, the party is planning protests at the grassroots to continue capitalising on public sentiments against price rise. The BJP, however, claims that Patnaik’s party is “politicising” the issue. “The prices of essential commodities are lower in the state compared to other states,” the state’s Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister Krushna Chandra Patra said.
