Early polls? One state buzzing about it, with ruling BJD on an overdrive, is Odisha

The developments come amidst speculation that the Modi government at the Centre has called a special session of Parliament in mid-September to introduce a one nation-one election Bill or to go in for early polls.

According to official sources, the EC team will hold a meeting with all district collectors in the state on September 13, and take an update on the preparation of new electoral rolls.

Odisha Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Nikunja Bihari Dhal told The Indian Express this was a routine trip. “The EC team visit has nothing to do with early polls. There is a difference between the visit of the Election Commissioners, and officials of the EC. A Senior Deputy Election Commissioner is to visit Odisha on September 13 and hold meetings with district collectors regarding electoral roll revision.”

Dhal said the draft electoral roll will be published in October and the final roll in January, and the first-level checking of EVMs done by November.

Asked if the CEO’s office was prepared to conduct early polls in case the BJD government dissolves the Assembly before the end of its tenure, a senior official said it is up to the EC to take a call on when elections will be held.

Assembly and Lok Sabha elections have been held simultaneously in Odisha ever since 2004, when Patnaik, in his first term as CM, had dissolved the House a year ahead of schedule. This move is believed to have helped the regional party keep its hold in the Lok Sabha and Assembly seats in the state, besides maximising its resources. Since 2004, the BJD has won a majority of the Assembly and Lok Sabha seats in Odisha in every election.

The coming elections would be Patnaik’s sixth bid for power, and sources in the BJD said the party leadership is veering around to the idea of early polls along with the five states where elections are due between November and December.

Claiming that the party has been “asked to prepare for November-December polls”, a senior BJD leader said: “Simultaneous polls have definitely worked in our favour since 2004 and helped us win the most seats in both the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls. But we are now seeking a sixth-straight term. If state elections are held with the general elections, it may help the Opposition, especially the BJP, which has emerged as our principal rival. If elections are held as per schedule, it will also give room to the Opposition to prepare well for the polls.”

The Monsoon Session of the state Assembly, generally held in the first or second week of September, will be held from September 22, as per a notification issued on Thursday. According to officials, it may be the last session before the next Assembly polls.

BJD insiders said that the ongoing district-wise meetings have given the party a good idea about its organisational strength, and to take corrective measures wherever necessary or in places where the Opposition is strong. Prospective candidates have reportedly also been sounded out.

Asked about the party’s preparations for early polls, senior BJD MLA and former state minister Dibya Shankar Mishra said the party is confident that “people will bless Naveen Patnaik”.

Union Minister of Education Dharmendra Pradhan was among the first politicians from Odisha to suggest that the BJD might seek early polls in the state. Fellow BJP leader and the party’s Odisha president, Manmohan Samal, followed him.

However, in what confused BJP ranks, during his trip to Odisha last month, Union Home Minister Amit Shah showered praise on Patnaik, including calling him a “popular” CM.

But other BJP leaders see no dichotomy in this. Pointing out that Patnaik shares a good rapport with the BJP’s Big Two, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Shah, a senior leader said that the BJD would not take any step without taking the BJP into confidence.

At the Centre, the BJD has always been a fence-sitter, not identifying itself with the Opposition but coming to the support of the BJD government on various issues. Most recently, it backed the controversial Act curtailing powers of the Delhi government, which cleared Parliament without a hitch.

With a special session of the Parliament tabled for later this month, during which an Opposition leader said the BJP-led NDA government might advance the Lok Sabha elections, the BJD sources said it would not be affected by any such plan as it’s well prepared and connected to the ground.

“Our party has been preparing for early polls for the past two to three months. Regular district-wise meetings are being held at Naveen Niwas to review the organisational strength. We are ahead in terms of preparations compared to the two other major national parties in the state. So, even if the Centre would advance the Lok Sabha polls, it will not affect us. We are always ready for polls,” said the BJD leader.

The regional party would soon conduct training programmes for its ‘active members’ at the constituency level with focus on poll preparedness. A meeting of senior leaders in this regard was held at Naveen Niwas on Wednesday.

Even if the BJP central leadership is kept in the loop by Patnaik if he calls early polls, on the ground, the party seems as ill-prepared as the Congress for an election right now. And this could be the main reason for the BJD’s gamble.

The saffron party, despite being the principal challenger to BJD, has not undertaken any people connecting exercise since the past six months. The preparedness of the saffron party is confined to a few meetings at the state headquarters.

BJP Balangir MLA Mukesh Mahaling stressed that the impression of the party not being prepared was wrong, and that the party was ready to face polls at any time. Odisha Congress president Sarat Pattnayak also claimed the same, adding “people have understood that the BJD and BJP are two sides of the same coin”.

In recent months, the BJD government has announced nearly half-a-dozen schemes and sops targeting different sections of the society, including unorganised workers, senior citizens, women self-help groups (SHGs) and the urban poor, known to be the party’s loyal support base. The ruling BJD has been known for such a pre-poll spree during its over two decades in power.

The newly announced schemes will cover an additional 4.13 lakh people under the Madhu Babu Pension Yojana, distribute land right certificates to 65,000 urban poor families, and include 50 more categories of workers from the unorganised sectors who will be eligible to avail benefits from the Odisha Unorganised Workers’ Social Security Board.

Besides, the government started a scooter scheme for women SHGs, a credit-linked housing scheme, Rs 50 lakh for every panchayat, and Rs 250 crore in assistance for kendu leaf pluckers and binders. Sources added that several other schemes are in the pipeline, to be announced soon.