Fresh off one bypoll win against BJD in Odisha, BJP hopeful for the next

The BJP is now hoping to wrest Bargarh district’s Padampur seat, which fell vacant after the death of sitting BJD MLA Bijaya Ranjan Singh Bariha in October. The BJP has fielded former MLA Pradip Purohit, who had lost to Bariha by a narrow margin of 5,734 votes in the 2019 Assembly polls. He rose to prominence as the leader of a public movement that protested against mining in the bauxite-rich Gandhamardhan hills in western Odisha.

On the BJD’s side is Bariha’s daughter Barsha Singh Bariha. The 29-year-old is a law graduate and this would be her first election. She is also the daughter-in-law of senior BJP leader Rama Ranjan Baliarsingh. The Congress has fielded Satya Bhusan Sahu, a three-time former MLA from the constituency.

That the BJP would devote its machinery for the election was reflected on Monday when Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan – who belongs to Odisha, and is expected to lead the campaign in the constituency – addressed a meeting and rally along with Purohit in Padampur, and accompanied him as he went to file his nomination papers.

In a fortuitous coincidence, the BJP delegation was stopped by a group of farmers protesting against the non-payment of crop insurance loans under the Pardhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana. Pradhan, Purohit and other BJP leaders joined the farmers and put off the filing of the nomination. While Purohit would now do so in a day or two, the issue is set to gain prominence in the run-up to the polls, and the BJP’s dharna could go in its favour.

While the party has been facing some internal issues in western Odisha where Padampur falls, BJP leaders are confident these will be put aside for “a united fight against the BJD”.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Purohit said: “After the BJD’s defeat in Dhamnagar, a certain confidence has been built in the voters’ mind. That if the ruling party can be defeated in Dhamnagar, it can be defeated in Padampur too. The farmers, who have been betrayed by the state government, will give a befitting reply to the ruling party in this bypoll.”

Senior BJP leader and the Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, Jayanarayan Mishra, who is handling the party campaign, said: “The BJP is looking to double the victory margin in Padampur as compared to the recent Dhamnagar results.”

In Dhamnagar, the BJD had faced rebellion over candidate selection, which resulted in a divided party unit that had to devote itself to keeping its flock together.

Realising the potential repercussions of the loss, senior BJD leaders including Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik have tried to publicly downplay it. However, sources said the party is anxious enough to deploy its full strength in Padampur. Senior BJD leaders who have been sidelined for the past few years, for example, have been called back to take charge of the seat. As many as six ministers and more than two dozen MLAs have been assigned to oversee the campaign.

The BJD is hoping that its candidate Barsha Singh will secure the sympathy vote because of her father Bariha’s death. And that the tribal Binjhal community, to which Bariha belonged and who constitute 4% of the Padampur numbers, will stand by the daughter.

Since 2000, no party has managed to win the seat two consecutive times.

As for the Congress, it remains as faction-ridden as before, though in Padampur it is trying to put up a united fight. Few, however, give any chance to the party that has lost deposits in four out of six recent by-polls.

Bordering Chhattisgarh, Padampur comprises three blocks: Jharbandh, Paikmal and Rajborasmbar. The constituency has over 2.5 lakh voters, including a significant portion of tribal voters.

A long-standing demand that has become prominent leading up to the bypoll is for a separate district status for Padampur.

Both the BJP and BJD have supported it.