Among the many surprises this year were the convincing victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the simultaneous elections by demolishing the 24-year-long BJD hegemony in the state and nomination of Keonjhar MLA Mohan Charan Majhi as the first BJP Chief Minister, stand out.
While the poll results upset many predictions, which repeatedly gave a clear advantage to the Naveen-Patnaik-led party’s well-oiled poll management strategy spearheaded by bureaucrat-turned-politician VK Pandian in ensuring a safe comeback, Majhi gave political pundits a run for their money by his unexpected selection for the top post. Behind these dramatic political developments lay the overconfidence of the regional party and a failure of its leadership to gauge public sentiments which the BJP exploited to the fullest through shrewd campaign strategy. While the BJD had to contend with just 51 MLAs, the BJP romped home with a simple majority by bagging 78 seats in the 147-member state Assembly. The Congress improved its tally from nine in the 2019 elections to 14. The regional party was completely routed in the Lok Sabha elections even as the BJP swept the results by securing 20 of the 21 MP seats. The only surprise was Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka who kept hopes for the Congress alive by retaining the Koraput seat. Political experts said Modi wave, candidate selection, anti-incumbency and turncoats were among the advantages the BJP cashed in on to decimate BJD. Nevertheless, the year marked the rise of grassroots leaders and people’s power over legacy and posturing.
Once considered a peripheral force in the state dominated by the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) gained major grounds in the state over the past decade, culminating in the remarkable victory in the 2024 Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.
Also Read: Yearender 2024: Elections, power shifts & political change
The BJP’s presence in the state was relatively modest for decades, with the party struggling to make significant inroads against the dominance of the BJD and Congress. The saffron party’s influence was confined to select pockets, primarily in western Odisha, where issues such as tribal welfare and regional neglect resonated with its narrative. However, the turning point in the party’s fortunes came with the 2014 general elections when the ‘Modi wave’ swept across the country. The party, for the first time, emerged as a strong contender to the BJD. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s repeated visits to the state, coupled with the party’s focus on grassroots organisation began to bear fruits as in the 2019 general elections the party won 8 out of the 21 Lok Sabha seats, a sharp increase from just one seat in 2014.
Among many factors, the Central government’s welfare schemes like Ujjwala Yojana and Swachh Bharat were said to have resonated with rural and tribal voters in ensuring noteworthy gains by the party.
In subsequent period, the BJP further consolidated its position by emerging as the main Opposition in the state Assembly. It was also successful in aligning local issues with its broader national agenda. Most importantly, party leaders were able to project a vision of development that challenged the BJD’s model.
However, what proved to be a deciding factor for BJP’s unprecedented success in the 2024 Assembly and Lok Sabha polls, was its local leadership’s ability to exploit the weaknesses of the BJD during the campaigns. The BJP was not only successful in building a narrative around the ‘Odia Ashmita’ plank – following talks of ‘outsider’ VK Pandian’s possible anointment as Naveen Patnaik’s successor – it also strategically deployed its Central leadership in all-out campaigns to overwhelm the regional party. The end was there for everyone to see.
While the BJP emerged victorious in the Assembly polls by bagging 78 seats, it swept the Lok Sabha elections by winning 20 out of the total 21 seats.
Ascent of Mohan Charan Majhi
June 11, 2024, will go down as a memorable day in Odisha’s political history as it marked the ascent of grassroots leader Mohan Charan Majhi to the Chief Minister’s office. In fact, Majhi’s name was seldom discussed in political or journalist circles for the top post following BJP’s stunning victory in the polls until the party leadership announced the four-time Keonjhar MLA’s name for the highest political assignment in the state.
With the announcement, the school teacher from the tribal-dominated district went on to become the head of the first BJP government in Odisha.
Raikala-born Majhi belongs to the Santhal community, same as President Droupadi Murmu. After a short stint in teaching, the young leader took the political plunge and got elected as a sarpanch in 1997. He made it to the state Assembly for the first time in 2000 by winning from Keonjhar and retained his seat in 2004.
Also Read: Yearender 2024: Climate on brink
In subsequent period, Majhi’s organisation skills saw his growth within the party as he was made the Deputy Chief Whip during the BJD-BJP coalition government from 2005 to 2009. Following his victory in the 2019 elections, Majhi was made Opposition Chief Whip in the Assembly, and a prominent tribal face of BJP in state politics. A street fighter to the hilt, Majhi’s resistance to the BJD government would often spill out of the Assembly arena and echo in the jungles of Keonjhar, enduring two unsuccessful life attempts by a vengeful mining mafia.
Unperturbed, Majhi continued his fight against corruption while cementing his grip on party cadres. It is said the reason behind his elevation to the top post was his uncompromising stance against corruption and misrule, the twin planks that set the cornerstone for his government.
Fall of BJD
The year 2024 proved unlucky for the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) as it marked an end to the regional party’s uninterrupted 24-year rule in the state. Though many had predicted Naveen Patnaik to make it into record books as the longest-serving Chief Minister albeit a thinner majority, no one had written him off in the way people chose to in the simultaneous Assembly and Lok Sabha polls fought under the blazing summer sun.
However, for a party with strong cadre presence and unrivalled mass appeal of Naveen Patnaik, the debacle didn’t come overnight. Many say the leadership chose to oversight the cracks that had long appeared in the party until those resulted in the dramatic fall. Naveen chose to ignore the writings on the wall and the inevitable happened, they say. While the BJD had to contend with just 51 Assembly seats, down from 113 in the 2019 elections, in the Lok Sabha polls it scored zero from 12 in 2019.
Analysis revealed that the defeat stemmed primarily from administrative concerns as the growing influence of bureaucrat-turned-politician VK Pandian in state affairs led to fears of bureaucratisation, causing unease among both the public and BJD members. In western Odisha, a traditional stronghold of BJP, the communal tensions, notably the 2023 riots in Sambalpur, heightened religious divides. The BJP capitalised on these sentiments to portray itself as a defender of majority interests. Another key factor was the speculations over Tamil-origin Pandian potentially becoming Chief Minister which sparked debates over Odia identity (Ashmita). The BJP leveraged this to question the BJD’s commitment to regional pride. These elements, combined with anti-incumbency sentiments, eroded the BJD’s support base, enabling the BJP to make significant inroads in Odisha’s political landscape.
Pandian’s exit
2000-batch Odisha cadre IAS officer, VK Pandian rose to prominence as the close confidant of BJD supremo and former chief minister Naveen Patnaik. Tamil Nadu-born Pandian began his bureaucratic career in 2002 as the sub-collector of Dharmagarh in Kalahandi. In 2007, he was appointed the Collector of Ganjam during which he became close to Naveen. Thereafter, Pandian served as Naveen’s private secretary from 2011, and 5T secretary from 2019. Naveen’s patronage saw Pandian playing a key role in the affairs of the state and the BJD in subsequent times. As his clout grew, so did the controversies surrounding his functioning. He was often accused by the Opposition of misusing his position for political gains. His whirlwind helicopter tour of the state after COVID-19 pandemic became a rallying point for the Opposition in seeking his resignation. Hours after taking voluntary retirement and joining BJD in October 2023, Pandian was made 5T and Navin Odisha chairman in the rank of a Cabinet minister. During the election, Naveen and Pandian were at the forefront of the BJD’s campaigning. As speculations of him being anointed as a successor by the BJD supremo started doing rounds, BJP was quick to cash in on his ‘outsider’ tag which ostensibly struck a chord with the electorates. Following BJD’s shocking poll debacle, Pandian announced his sabbatical from active politics in June 2024.
Bobby checkmated
The BJD chose to field party organisational secretary Pranab Prakash (Bobby) Das from the high-stakes Sambalpur Lok Sabha constituency against BJP stalwart and Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. BJD’s gameplan somehow went wrong and Pradhan defeated Bobby by a substantial margin of 1,19,836 votes in what appeared like a one-sided contest. By winning the Sambalpur seat, Pradhan, on the other hand, cemented the BJP’s grip in western Odisha.
Bag, the giant killer
As if BJD’s humiliating defeat in the Assembly polls and a wipeout in the Lok Sabha election were not enough, the biggest upset came from Kantabanji Assembly seat where BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik faced a shocking defeat at the hands of BJP’s Laxman Bag by a margin of over 16,000 votes. Bag, once a daily wager and a truck driver, garnered huge public support by choosing labour migration, unemployment, poor healthcare and education as his major poll planks.
Holding Congress fort
Two-time Congress MP from Koraput, Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka, saved the party from a wipeout in the Lok Sabha polls when he defeated BJD’s Kausalya Hikaka by a huge margin of 1,47,744 votes. Son of former Koraput MP Ramachandra Ulaka, Saptagiri was able to garner public support by raising issues like establishment of a High Court bench in Koraput. He was also instrumental in bringing air connectivity to his constituency. Saptagiri secured 4,69,295 votes while BJP’s Kaliram Majhi with 2,30,792 remained a distant third.
Sofia scripts history
Sofia Firdous, daughter of former Cuttack-Barabati MLA Mohd Moquim, etched her name in record books when she defeated BJP’s Purna Chandra Mahapatra by a margin of 8,001 votes, making her Odisha’s first-ever woman Muslim legislator. The 32-year-old gave up her career as a real estate developer after the supporters of Moquim, who was entangled in a land scam, urged her to contest the high-stakes Barabati battle. Sofia faced a daunting challenge due to a short campaign period. However, she emerged victorious.
The hopping game
This year’s Lok Sabha and Assembly elections could well be remembered for intense party-switching by politicians, like never before. In most cases, last-minute hopping not only altered the political equations locally but it also left voters utterly confused, thereby impacting the poll outcomes. Tickets were up for grab for party hoppers, but lady luck didn’t smile on all and sundry. Around 60 per cent of party-hoppers tasted defeat in both Lok Sabha (LS) and Assembly elections.
Turncoats like Bhrugu Baxipatra and Lekhasri Samantsinghar, who joined BJD after quitting the saffron camp, had to bite the dust in the Lok Sabha polls as they were defeated by Pradeep Kumar Panigrahy (Berhampur) and Pratap Chandra Sarangi (Balasore).
However, Bhartruhari Mahtab switched to BJP and won from Cuttack LS seat. Former Kendrapara Congress MLA Anshuman Mohanty, who jumped to BJD camp, was trounced by BJP veteran Baijayant Panda in LS polls. However, in Kendrapara Assembly segment, former senior Congress leader Ganeswar Behera, who decided to embrace the conch by deserting the grand-old party, emerged victorious by defeating BJP’s Geetanjali Sethi.
Some other party hoppers like Sidhant Mohapatra, Akash Dasnayak and Prasanta Jagadev won the Digapahandi, Korei and Khurda MLA seats, respectively. Arindam Roy got a ticket from BJP after quitting BJD for Salipur Assembly seat, but was defeated by BJD’s Prasanta Behera with a margin of over 7,000 votes.
An interesting scenario emerged in Nimapara Assembly constituency when three-time BJD MLA and minister Samir Ranjan Dash was denied a ticket. He joined BJP but failed to get a ticket as the party had already picked Pravati Parida for the seat. Thereafter, BJD fielded BJP turncoat Dillip Kumar Nayak but was defeated by Parida.
PNN