'Next time around': Jay Panda confident of BJP ending Naveen's reign in Odisha

'Next time around': Jay Panda confident of BJP ending Naveen's reign in Odisha

Speaking about the Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal government in Odisha, Panda says that the BJP's time has arrived.

Anwesha MitraUpdated: Sunday, January 05, 2020, 02:28 PM IST
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Photo: BL Soni

"When do you see the BJP coming to power in Orissa" we asked BJP leader Baijayant Jay Panda during a chat in The Free Press Journal's Mumbai office.

In a candid conversation that spanned from Kashmir and the recent Citizenship Amendment Act protests to the Maharashtra government formation and other topics, Panda answered questions with candour.

Speaking about the Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal (BJD) government in Odisha, Panda says that the BJP's time has arrived. He expects a somewhat different outcome "the next time around".

The ruling party's national vice-President and spokesperson incidentally hails from the eastern state and is a two time Member of Parliament from Kendrapara.

In May 2019, while the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) emerged as the largest party, winning 112 Assembly seats in 146-member House, the BJP overtook the Congress as the main opposition party, winning 23 seats.

This upward trend was seen in the Parliamentary elections too, with the BJD winning 12 Lok Sabha constituencies out of 21 seats, followed by the BJP with 8 seats.

As Panda tells us, "The BJP doubled its vote share this time. In Odisha, in 2009, the BJP had 18% vote share, and was third behind the Congress."

"It has gone to a 36% vote share," he says, adding that "that's not a small jump".

"and...the BJD has seen its first reduction," Panda says.

Since its formation in 1997, initially as an ally of the BJP, he explains, in every election the BJD used to see a rise. In 2017 it saw its first fall in Zila Parishad and Panchayat elections. And in 2019, it saw a similar fall in the Parliament elections.

"The gap is fairly narrow now, just a few points. So, I'd expect...the next time around", he says with a smile.

Panda incidentally has a BJD connection. In 2018, he had resigned from from the regional party and the Lok Sabha membership, following differences with the senior leaders. However, he had lost the Kendrapara seat to BJD candidate and Rajya Sabha MP Anubhav Mohanty in last year's poll.

Now, before we conclude this article, let us take a quick look across the country at what Panda had to say about the recent Maharashtra government formation saga.

When asked, he comments that he doesn't quite see it as a "setback". As he explains it, "We had a coalition and we won the election."

And maybe that's a setback in some sense of the word, Panda says, but he's quick to add that ultimately it "may be a huge political benefit", "because it clarifies in the voter's mind, who stands for what"

And while that coalition may have later splintered, the fact remains that the BJP all by its lonesome won a 105 seats in Maharashtra.

As Panda tells us, "Seats in some states may go up or down...but that's okay. Clearly nationally, the support for Modi ji and the BJP continues at a very high level.

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