Odisha buzz grows ahead of PM Modi visit: Will BJD-BJP bonhomie turn into realliance?

The timing of PM Modi’s visit to Odisha is significant. March 5 will mark the 108th birth anniversary of Odisha icon and former chief minister late Biju Patnaik, the father of BJD supremo and current CM Naveen Patnaik. The BJD has planned a massive programme to celebrate the event and it is expected that the PM will pay tribute to Biju during his one-day tour. He is also likely to share dais with the CM.

According to official sources, the PM will reach Bhubaneswar on the afternoon of March 5. Going ahead with his development pitch, he will then proceed to Chandikhole in Jajpur district to launch various projects. After this, Modi is also scheduled to address a rally organised by the state BJP.

This would be the PM’s second visit to Odisha this year; he had last visited the state on February 3, when he unveiled projects at Sambalpur. Then too, he shared the stage with Patnaik, calling him his friend. The CM had hailed Modi for “setting a new direction for India to become an economic powerhouse”.

While the BJP is the principal Opposition in the state, which the BJD has been ruling for 24 years, the PM had not taken on Patnaik or his government, indicating the close ties between the two sides.

The BJP’s Odisha election co-incharge Lata Usendi, who has been camping in the state to oversee the preparations for the PM’s visit, told reporters on Friday that there will be a “double-engine” government in Odisha. She neither confirmed nor ruled out the speculations about the BJD’s possible return to the NDA fold. “As far as Odisha is concerned, a double engine government will be there. The double engine government will develop Odisha as desired by its people,” she said.

A senior BJP leader said that the local cadre was not privy to the talks at the “highest level”.  “Even the Union ministers from Odisha are not aware of what is going on. What creates confusion is the discreet silence of the central leadership when it comes to Odisha’s strategy,” the leader said.

He said that the state BJP has informed the central leadership that it could take on the BJD for the upcoming polls. “We have already told the central leadership that there is strong anti-incumbency against the BJD and that we can encash it with a well-crafted strategy with support from the leadership. But the leadership seems to be more concerned about winning the Lok Sabha polls. They may look at the BJD as a potential ally in tune with their target to win 400 seats,” said the BJP leader.

BJP leaders also point out that the BJP has not begun its candidate selection process for the Assembly polls. Meanwhile, two rebel BJD leaders and sitting MLAs, Pradeep Panigrahy and Prasanta Jagdev, have also joined the BJP over the last month.

BJD leaders, on the other hand, are also not spelling out their party’s stance, preferring to keep their cards close to their chest.

On February 25, Patnaik’s trusted aide and former IAS officer VK Pandian, who joined the BJD in November last year, also tried to downplay the buzz. “Such matters are not discussed at public forums,” Pandian said.

Although the BJP fought aggressively against the BJD in the 2019 polls, it could not succeed. The party, however, secured eight Lok Sabha seats out of the state’s 21, while the BJD got 12. In the synchronised elections to the 147-member Assembly, the BJP however managed to only win 23 seats, while the BJD got 113 seats.

The parties have since maintained what they call a “friendly relationship”. This had been manifested in the BJD extending support to the Modi government on key Bills in Parliament and the presidential polls.

However, many senior BJD leaders have been concerned about their poll tickets if the two parties again forge an alliance.

The two parties had aligned for the Lok Sabha polls for the first time in 1998. The BJD had fought on 12 seats and won nine, while the BJP fielded its candidates in 9 seats and won 7. They first contested the Assembly polls together in 2000, when the BJD and BJP had fought in 84 and 63 seats respectively. They repeated the same seat-sharing tally in 2004 too. However, the BJD pulled the plug on the alliance just ahead of the 2009 polls as their ties soured after the August 2008 communal riots in the Kandhamal district.

Meanwhile, Odisha BJP president Manmohan Samal, who visited Delhi to meet the central leadership, refuted speculations about the party’s tie-up with the BJD. Speaking to reporters after returning from Delhi, Samal said the BJP will strongly contest all 21 Lok Sabha seats and 147 Assembly constituencies. “We will win all 21 Lok Sabha seats in Odisha. Our top leadership has also stated that the party will form a government in Odisha,” he claimed.