West Odisha poll matrix in mind, Naveen Patnaik acquiesces to Opposition demand, postpones Speaker election

The state was scheduled to get a new Speaker on Thursday (September 21) but the Assembly postponed it by a day following Opposition pressure. In Picture: The Odisha Assembly. (Express Photo by Sujit Bisoyi)

“The decision to reschedule the Speaker’s election has been taken as most of the legislators, especially from western Odisha, will be with their families for the Nuakhai festival,” said a senior official, requesting anonymity.

How Opposition rose in protest

It was the Congress that made the first move. On September 13, the party announced the boycott of the Speaker’s election. Two days later, the BJP followed suit.

Senior Congress MLA Narasingha Mishra said it was unfortunate that the state government had scheduled the election amid the festival. “Despite protests, the state government did not listen to our problem. By taking such a stand, the government has ridiculed the people of western Odisha. This proves the step-motherly attitude of the government towards people in the region,” Mishra told reporters.

Senior Congress MLA Narasingha Mishra. (File)

Mishra, the Balangir MLA, also urged the people of west Odisha to stand up against the state government’s “step-motherly treatment”.

Announcing the party’s decision not to participate in the Speaker election, BJP MLA Nauri Nayak also alleged that BJD leaders had “no respect for the sentiments of people in west Odisha”. Though the BJD is not a member of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance in the Centre, generally supports the BJP government on most issues. “It is not possible for the MLAs of western Odisha to reach the Odisha Assembly a day after the Nuakhai festival. This is because the celebrations continue till the next day. Though we had demanded a change in the date of the election, the government paid no heed to it. This has hurt the sentiments of the people of western Odisha,” said Nayak.

BJP MLA Nauri Nayak. (File)

The BJD’s state Minister of Planning and Convergence Rajendra Dholakia, who is from the region, dismissed the Opposition’s allegation. Though the BJD initially tried to downplay the issue, sources said a section of party leaders from the region persuaded the government to reschedule the election as Nuakhai is “deeply rooted” in the sentiments of people there.

Political importance of west Odisha

West Odisha mainly comprises the 10 districts of Sambalpur, Bargarh, Jharsuguda, Deogarh, Balangir, Sonepur, Sundargarh, Boudh, Kalahandi, and Nuapada. Many of these districts border the neighbouring states of Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. Both the BJP and the Congress have a strong base in the region unlike in coastal Odisha. The BJP won all five Lok Sabha constituencies of west Odisha in 2019 — it also won three seats in north and coastal Odisha — while eight of its 23 MLAs are from the region. Of the Congress’s nine MLAs, four are from the region.

Given that the Opposition is relatively stronger here than in any other part of the state, Naveen Patnaik chose Bijepur in Bargarh district as his second seat four years ago. But he retained his traditional bastion Hinjili in Ganjam district after the election.

West Odisha also has considerable representation in the state Council of Ministers. At present, six ministers in Patnaik’s 20-member Cabinet are from the region.

The BJD government has also launched several programmes targeting voters there. In 2021, Patnaik announced that the grant to the Western Odisha Development Council, a special body to oversee development in the region, would be doubled to Rs 200 crore. In July, the CM launched the Mukhya Mantri Sabha Gruha (meeting hall) scheme for the region, under which the government plans to build 2,000 kalyan mandaps (ceremonial halls).