Text Size: A- A+

The Odisha CM said BJP’s defeat in the polls reflected the ‘mood of the nation’ but clarified that he would stay away from both Congress and BJP.

New Delhi: In the growing clamour to weave together a united opposition, with top political leaders making overt pitches, the silence of Odisha Chief Minister and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) chief, Naveen Patnaik, is deafening.

A motley group of opposition parties have been engaged in frenzied, but clumsy attempts to forge an ambitious coalition against the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), with top leaders of Congress and regional parties across states making their stands clear.

The reclusive Patnaik, however, has remained ambivalent and unreadable.

A cryptic Patnaik

Consider this: On the day results were announced for the assembly elections in five states — in which the BJP performed poorly — the Odisha CM said they reflected the “mood of the nation” and claimed that the BJP government at the Centre had “done very little for farmers”.

In the same breath, however, Patnaik clarified his party would maintain a distance from both political poles.

“Though we have extended issue-based support, we remain equidistant from both the BJP and the Congress party,” he said. “There is no firm mahagathbandhan at the moment and let’s see what happens in the future.”

His Twitter handle this week — the election verdict came out on 11 December — tells its own tale.

On Monday night, Patnaik tweeted birthday greetings to former President Pranab Mukherjee. On Tuesday, he congratulated Shaktikanta Das — who is from Odisha — on his appointment as Reserve Bank of India governor.

Since then, he has tweeted about his government’s achievement in rural areas as well as on the quarterfinal tie between Australia and France in the ongoing men’s Hockey World Cup in Bhubaneswar.

Tellingly, he has not pushed out a single tweet on the assembly election results.

Also read: Why the shrewd and wily Naveen Patnaik is cosying up to Narendra Modi and BJP

Keeping his cards close to his chest

In recent times, Patnaik, the Odisha CM since 2000, has kept his cards close to his chest. The BJD walked out of Parliament before the no-trust vote against the Modi government in July this year. This was seen as a tacit support to the government and the Congress even alleged there was an understanding between the two parties.

Patnaik’s party backed NDA candidate Ram Nath Kovind during the presidential election last year but supported the opposition-backed candidate Gopalkrishna Gandhi in the vice-presidential election.

The multiple-term CM has also not attended any opposition meeting.

With Odisha sending 21 seats to the Lok Sabha, and Patnaik maintaining an iron grip on the state, his role could be crucial in case of a potential opposition coalition. The leader, however, has not displayed any overt national ambitions so far.

The BJP & BJD tussle

The BJD, which won 20 of the 21 Lok Sabha seats in Odisha in 2014, has had a chequered history with the BJP. Both parties were in an alliance for around 11 years before the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, when seat-sharing talks between them collapsed, leading to a bitter break-up.

The BJP is now engaged in a concerted effort to establish a foothold in Odisha. The party hopes to compensate its potential losses in heartland states in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls with gains in newer territories, and Odisha is a key part of this plan.

BJP president Amit Shah — the party’s main strategist — has been visiting the state frequently, trying to polish the organisation ground up and buttress the party strategy, while also sending out clear and loud signals to the BJD about BJP’s intentions. So far, the Congress has been the BJD’s main rival in the state.

Even PM Modi has done his bit to make a bid for his party in the state, launching projects and addressing rallies. At a public meeting in September in the state, Modi slammed Patnaik for rejecting the Centre’s flagship Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme and alleged there was a corruption culture in the state.

The BJD chief hit back and said the Central government should instead think about the scams in its skill mission and Ujjwala schemes.

In the last couple of months, however, the BJP’s aggressive drive in Odisha appears to have cooled to an extent, with the focus shifting to the Mamata Banerjee’s West Bengal.

Patnaik’s political ambiguity and cryptic moves, meanwhile, continue to leave all political players guessing about whether the veteran hopes to rekindle the friendship with the BJP, or will stand against it with other opposition parties.

Also read: From a soft-spoken socialite to a ruthless, authoritarian leader: Naveen Patnaik’s two decades in Odisha

Subscribe to our channels on YouTube & Telegram

Why news media is in crisis & How you can fix it You are reading this because you value good, intelligent and objective journalism. We thank you for your time and your trust. You also know that the news media is facing an unprecedented crisis. It is likely that you are also hearing of the brutal layoffs and pay-cuts hitting the industry. There are many reasons why the media’s economics is broken. But a big one is that good people are not yet paying enough for good journalism. We have a newsroom filled with talented young reporters. We also have the country’s most robust editing and fact-checking team, finest news photographers and video professionals. We are building India’s most ambitious and energetic news platform. And have just turned three. At ThePrint, we invest in quality journalists. We pay them fairly. As you may have noticed, we do not flinch from spending whatever it takes to make sure our reporters reach where the story is. This comes with a sizable cost. For us to continue bringing quality journalism, we need readers like you to pay for it. If you think we deserve your support, do join us in this endeavour to strengthen fair, free, courageous and questioning journalism. Please click on the link below. Your support will define ThePrint’s future. Support Our Journalism

Show Full Article