Anticipating Dharmendra Pradhan in LS polls, Naveen Patnaik deploys top lieutenant

Bobby Das, the de facto number two in the BJD, has been appointed the observer for Dhenkanal, Angul, Sambalpur, and Keonjhar districts. The party believes Pradhan may contest from either Dhenkanal or Sambalpur.

Dharmendra Pradhan and Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik. (File Photos)

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Sending a message to the BJP, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has appointed Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s de facto number two Pranab Prakash Das, popularly known as Bobby, as the observer for the districts of Dhenkanal, Angul, Sambalpur, and Keonjhar. The appointment was announced on Monday as part of the BJD’s efforts to restructure its line-up of observers for various districts in the run-up to the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections next year.

According to insiders, the party is preparing for the possibility of Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan contesting from either the Dhenkanal Lok Sabha seat, which comprises Dhenkanal and Angul, or the Sambalpur constituency. Pradhan, who became a Union Minister in 2014, is from the town of Talcher in Angul and has expressed an interest in contesting the elections from Odisha, not specifying if he wants to contest the Assembly polls or the general elections.

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“If Dharmendra Pradhan opts to fight the Lok Sabha polls, either he may contest from Dhenkanal or Sambalpur. Some of his recent activities indicate that he is silently gauging the public mood, the party strength in both the constituencies, and other factors. The party’s decision to rope in Das is a clear hint that it is a move to check Pradhan,” a senior BJD leader, requesting anonymity, told The Indian Express.

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BJD general secretary Arun Kumar Sahoo said all 30 districts in the state were crucial for the party. “Since our party focuses on every constituency and every district, we won huge during the last panchayat poll in 2022 and formed Zila Parishad in all 30 districts. So, every district is important to us.”

Das is a three-time MLA from the Jajpur Assembly constituency. Known to be a “good organiser” and a “go-getter”, he has proved his mettle in several elections. In March 2020, Patnaik rewarded the legislator by appointing him organisational secretary, a position created only for the 51-year-old.

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While the Dhenkanal parliamentary seat is currently with the BJD, the BJP has a strong base in Sambalpur and controls it at present. In 2019, the BJP won the Sambalpur parliamentary seat and three of the Assembly segments of Sambalpur, Rengali, and Deogarh. The rest of the four Assembly segments went to the BJD. In Dhenkanal, the ruling party won the Lok Sabha seat and all seven Assembly segments after overcoming a tough fight from BJP candidates. But since then, infighting has weakened the party’s organisation in Dhenkanal and Angul districts, according to sources in the party.

“Bobby Das will have to check the BJP’s growth in Sambalpur, wrest the seat from the BJP, and infuse strength into the BJD’s organisation in Dhenkanal and Angul districts,” said a leader of the state’s ruling party.

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If Pradhan, currently a Rajya Sabha MP from Madhya Pradesh, contests the polls from Odisha, defeating him will help the BJD underline its electoral dominance in the state and deal a crushing blow to the Opposition party. Pradhan, the son of former Union Minister Debendra Pradhan, is one of the BJP’s most prominent faces from Odisha. He started his political career with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and was elected to the state Assembly from the Pallahara assembly seat in Angul in 2000. At the time, the BJP and the BJD were in an alliance. Four years later, he was elected to the Lok Sabha from Deogarh (now part of the Sambalpur seat) as an alliance candidate. Five years later, as the BJD and the BJP parted ways, he unsuccessfully contested the Assembly polls from Pallahara. He was then elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2012 from Bihar and for a second term in 2018 from Madhya Pradesh.

For the past several months, the Union Minister has stepped up his political activities and outreach in Dhenkanal. Recently, he sought a special package from the Union government for the development of the tourism infrastructure in Dhenkanal, Sambalpur, and Deogarh. On Pradhan’s request, Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw recently renamed the Sambalpur-Shalimar Express as Mahima Gosain Express. The train runs via Angul and Talcher. The decision was taken to honour the Mahima Dharma religious movement.

Downplaying Bobby Das’ appointment, Leader of Opposition and Sambalpur MLA Jaya Narayan Mishra said Das had been moved to the region to raise money for the party from the mineral-rich districts of Angul and Sambalpur.