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The resignation of Raghubar Das as Odisha Governor has come as a surprise for the BJP leaders in the state, which has also reignited the buzz about his return to active politics in his home state, Jharkhand.
In an official statement from the Raj Bhavan on Wednesday, Das cited “personal reasons” for stepping down, a day after Mizoram Governor Kambhampati Hari Babu was announced as his replacement as part of a shuffle of gubernatorial posts by the Centre. A communique from the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Tuesday stated that the resignation of Das has been accepted by President Droupadi Murmu.
Former Jharkhand chief minister Das, 70, resigned after serving just 14 months as the Odisha Governor. The talk about his return to active politics first surfaced ahead of the recent Jharkhand Assembly polls but died down after the BJP fielded his daughter-in-law Purnima Sahu from his stronghold, Jamshedpur East, where she won.
Das was the first non-tribal CM of Jharkhand, who has been the only CM there so far to have completed a full term. Sources said he is likely to make a comeback to active politics.
After offering prayers at the Puri Jagannath temple Wednesday, Das told reporters: “I belong to a working class family. After I joined the party (BJP) in 1980, I was given the opportunity to serve in many capacities at the booth, mandal, state and national level. I also got the chance to serve the people of Jharkhand (as CM). The party will decide my new role.”
A BJP leader in Odisha said Das is known to have a “strong influence” in Jharkhand politics, so the central party leadership may have a “plan for him” since, he added, “the party sees internal wranglings as one of the reasons for its defeat in the Jharkhand polls”.
Odisha BJP chief Manmohan Samal said Das may have quit after “consulting” the party’s central leadership.
Das took charge as the Odisha Governor on October 18 last year and had one of the shortest stints in the Raj Bhavan as over the last three decades his five predecessors completed their full five-year terms.
In the Odisha BJP circles Das’ role was seen to be “crucial” as the party, despite not having a strong organisational base, ousted the Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal (BJD) from power and formed its first government in the state after winning the Assembly polls earlier this year.
In his initial days as the Governor, Das took a different approach and toured all 30 districts of the state to engage directly with the people to resolve their issues, avoiding a direct confrontation with the Patnaik government. However, his visits with minimal security – a clear departure from the precedent set by his predecessors – created a flutter in the BJD camp as they coincided with the statewide tours undertaken by then bureaucrat-turned-BJD leader V K Pandian, Patnaik’s close aide.
BJD insiders claim Das’ “role” was a key reason for the party’s defeat in the simultaneous Assembly and Lok Sabha polls. This also explained the BJD’s recurrent tirades against the Raj Bhavan following its poll debacle.
The BJD also slammed Das over the alleged assault of a Raj Bhavan employee by his son Lalit Kumar in Puri during the annual Rath Yatra in July. The BJD has continued to target Das over the issue even after his resignation, with party spokesperson Lelin Mohanty pointing out that the victim of the alleged assault still awaited justice. “The BJP’s claims of no one being above the law is a farce,” he said.
The BJD had also alleged that the Raj Bhavan had been turned into a “war room” during the Jharkhand Assembly elections last month for “political manoeuvrings”.
A BJD leader said it was Das who had apprised the BJP leadership about the anger among people over Pandian’s growing influence within the party. “His (Das’s) feedback was instrumental in the BJP going all guns blazing against the BJD despite having a ‘soft stance’ for it months ahead of the polls,” he said.
Another BJD leader said Das was sent by the BJP leadership on a “mission to Odisha to help the party come to power”. “As the BJP achieved its mission, they may have a different plan for him now,” the leader added.
Das, however, said he had no contribution to the BJP’s victory in the state and that it was because of Mahaprabhu Jagannath’s blessings.
During his tenure as the Governor, Das was also seen to have differences with the new BJP government over a Bill regarding the state’s public universities. While the BJP had planned to pass the legislation during the recently concluded Assembly session, sources said the “objections” of the Governor, who also serves as the ex-officio Chancellor of the universities, prevented it from even being taken up for discussion.
