BJD chief Patnaik intends to strengthen the party’s support base in western Odisha
Five-time Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who is still largely seen as the most charismatic politician in Odisha, has been emboldened by an air of invincibility with repeated election triumphs since 2000. He is not in the mood to take risks, as the coastal state is gradually being infected with poll fever.
The news that Patnaik will run from both his traditional Hinjili seat in Ganjam district and the Kantabanji Assembly seat in Bolangir, western Odisha, yesterday sent a strong message that the regional party will stop at nothing to undermine the BJP’s support base in that region.
It seems that the chief minister’s election strategy involves improving the chances of BJD candidates in the western regions of the state, where the saffron party has a significant organizational and voter base base. Aside from BJD, the Indian National Congress also has some localized power in terms of grassroots connections and votes.
Patnaik is replicating his 2019 campaign strategy by opting to contest from a seat (Bijepur) in the western district of Bargarh. With a margin of victory of more than 57,000 votes, he forfeited the seat in order to keep Hinjili.
The results of the 2019 twin polls showed conflicting outcomes for BJD. It’s interesting to note that in 2019, the BJD won all five assembly seats in the Bargarh district, yet the BJP won the Bargarh Lok Sabha seat.
This time, the leader of the BJD has chosen to run from the Kantabanji seat in Bolangir, another area in western Odisha where the BJD is not as powerful as the Congress and BJP.
The current Kantabanji MLA is Santosh Singh Saluja, a veteran of the Congress, while the MP for Bolangir is Sangeeta Singh Deo of the BJP. In 2019, the Congress won two of the district’s five assembly seats, while the BJP won one. In an apparent attempt to secure a record sixth consecutive term as chief minister, Patnaik has taken on the duty of enhancing the party’s chances in western Odisha.
It is important to note that Pranab Prakash Das, the BJD’s organization secretary, moved to Sambalpur, western Odisha, to face off against Union Minister and BJP candidate Dharmendra Pradhan for the Sambalpur Lok Sabha seat. Das is a native of the coastal Jajpur district.
