How Odisha’s rain-battered paddy fields have turned into BJD-BJP battleground

Unseasonal rain between December 20 and 28 damaged harvest-ready crops in 11 of Odisha’s 30 districts, starting from Ganjam and Gajapati in the south to Balasore in the northern coastal parts. The incessant downpour flattened standing crops and left many paddy fields inundated. Official sources said the unseasonal rain damaged standing crops across 2.91 lakh hectares of land, affecting nearly 7 lakh farmers. The state government also declared a “state calamity” to release compensation from the state disaster response fund.

Even though the state government has directed district collectors to assess the damage and assured compensation, the situation has left several farmers distressed. While Majhi chaired a review meeting to take stock of the situation on December 28, an official press release on the meeting did not make mention of any scheduled district visits by the CM or his Cabinet colleagues.

But moments after the BJD on December 28 announced Patnaik’s visit to Ganjam, the most populous district and Patnaik’s home turf, on December 30, a government notification was circulated announcing a district visit by Majhi, Deputy CMs Pravati Parida and Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo, and Cabinet Ministers Krushna Chandra Patra and Pradeep Bal Samanta the following day.

Considered a BJD stronghold until earlier this year, the BJD suffered resounding defeats in Ganjam district’s Lok Sabha and Assembly seats during the simultaneous elections. But Patnaik’s visits, the first in recent years, evoked a sizable response from the public. Majhi, on the other hand, was accompanied by local MLAs of the ruling BJP and district officials during his visits.

The BJD used Patnaik’s visit to not only criticise the BJP but also attempt to boost its support base. While hearing from the distressed farmers, Patnaik encouraged them to register their grievances with the state government while attacking the BJP for failing to provide adequate warnings about the rain and the poor response from officials. BJD insiders claimed crowds that gathered for Patnaik’s visit were an indication of his popularity, its recent poor electoral performances notwithstanding: the BJD lost 12 of the 13 Assembly segments in Ganjam in the 2024 polls, down from 12 in 2019.

Patnaik’s visit, however, was ridiculed by senior BJP leaders who said he had not made the visits while in power. “After ruling the state for several years, he (Patnaik) has leased out his government to someone from outside the state (referring to long-time private secretary V K Pandian, originally from Tamil Nadu). It created anger among the people who gave him a befitting reply. He was now forced to visit paddy fields, which he has never done earlier,” said Patra, the state food supplies and consumer welfare minister.

Unfazed by the criticism, the BJD announced Patnaik’s visits to other affected districts such as Puri, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, and Kendrapara on December 31. Senior BJD leader Ganeswar Behera said the BJP was “jealous” and “concerned” about the huge public response during Patnaik’s district visits.

Majhi also made veiled attacks against Patnaik, saying those who once lived in “ivory towers” were now “forced to visit villages”. “It’s because of the style of functioning of the BJP government in the state. They are worried over the way our government is working for the people and to make Odisha a developed state,” Majhi said at a programme in Bhubaneswar on Thursday.

Hours later, Patnaik wrote a letter to the CM requesting him to restore confidence among distressed farmers. He also sought adequate and timely compensation for them. “The farmers and their families are in severe distress. The rains have caused extensive damage to both paddy and non-paddy crops during the harvesting period. This kind of situation has not happened in the recent past. They stated that they were not aware of the intensity of the rains as the government advisory was not issued on time. Besides, at many places the survey of crop damage has not yet been done,” Patnaik wrote.

Writing that the most disturbing and unfortunate part of the disaster was the “suicide of farmers”, Patnaik said that “the confidence of the farmer is shattered”. Citing Odisha’s proneness to natural disasters, Patnaik said the BJD would continue to demand special category status for the state, saying the tag would have benefited the farmers.

With the BJD facing the challenge of keeping its flock together while in the Opposition, party insiders said Patnaik might tour all the districts in regular intervals given the positive response so far. These visits might also stop BJD workers from switching to the BJP, they said.