Newsmaker | Down in the dumps in Odisha, Congress bets on SC face, old streetfighter Bhakta Charan Das

With the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) ousted from power after two decades and in the midst of its own organisational crisis, the Congress leadership believes now is the time for it to shape itself as an Opposition voice to the BJP.

“No one knows what will happen to the BJD after Naveen Patnaik retires and there is no clarity if their strategy is against or aligned to the BJP. So, the Congress will be the natural choice to be the alternative to the BJP’s divisive agenda,” said a senior Congress leader.

He, however, admitted that the party needed a “strong leader” who “is ready to fight on the streets”.

The Congress is hoping that Das’s experience as a three-time MP as well as an AICC observer in Bihar and Manipur will help restructure the beleaguered party unit.

Behind Das’s appointment are also certain regional and caste calculations.

Das is from western Odisha, which was once a Congress stronghold. With his appointment, the Congress hopes it can send a signal to its voter base in the region.

The Congress also seems to be attempting to reach out to the SCs and STs in the state who make up 23% and 17% of the state’s population respectively. The new Odisha Congress chief is from the Scheduled Caste (SC) community. Earlier, the party named ST leader Ramchandra Kadam as the Congress legislature party (CLP) leader in the Odisha Assembly.

After taking charge, Das told the media the key challenge was “to put the house in order and to remain united”.

“We will assess our strength in every booth, panchayat, block and continue to fight for people’s issues. The Congress was once a dominant force in Odisha and it is not impossible to revive the party,” Das said.

And Das has hit the ground running — and is expected to start a padayatra to Puri Jagannath Temple in July.

The first major test before Das will be the panchayat and urban polls scheduled in 2027, two years before the next Assembly polls.

Known to be an aggressive leader since his college days, Das was an active member of the Sangharsh Vahini, a youth organisation formed during Jayaprakash Narayan movement. He gained the limelight for launching cycle yatras throughout Odisha on various issues during his time as the national convener of the organisation

In 1985, he was elected to the Odisha state Assembly for the first time as a Janata Party candidate from the Bhawanipatna seat. Das went on to represent the Kalahandi seat in the Lok Sabha thrice. However, it was from different parties: Janata Dal (1989), Samata Party (1996) and Congress (2009).

He also served as a deputy minister for the Department of Youth Affairs and Sports between April 23, 1990 and November 5, 1990 as well as Ministry of State (Railways) between November 21, 1990 to June 21, 1991.

In the 2024 Assembly polls, Das lost to BJD’s Manorama Mohanty from Narla. His son Sagar was elected from Das’s old seat Bhawanipatna.

The Congress had ruled Odisha for over four decades, but has seen a steady decline from 2000 with its MLAs and vote shares falling. Even as the Congress improved its tally in the Assembly — 14 in 2024 from nine in 2019 — the party’s vote share was reduced to 13.26% from 16.3% five years prior.

In the Lok Sabha polls held simultaneously, the Congress only managed to retain its lone Koraput seat. Here too, its vote share declined from 14% in 2019 to 12.52%.