In Odisha, Naveen's nimble moves in the Murmu election outwit BJP, Congress

Patnaik did not provide space for the Odisha BJP to take credit for Murmu's victory

Congress legislator from Cuttack, Mohammed Moquim, who was in the race for the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president post until recently, found it irresistible to vote for the National Democratic Alliance's (NDA) presidential nominee Droupadi Murmu. After all, she is an Odia tribal woman and her candidature evoked Odia pride in the state.

The ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD), not even a part of the NDA, appropriated Murmu's candidature by whipping up Odia pride. Chief Minister, also the BJD president, Naveen Patnaik, was on a trip to Italy when he promptly congratulated Murmu soon after her name was announced for the country's highest office. "It is indeed a proud moment for the people of Odisha," the 75-year-old five-term Odisha CM tweeted.

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Patnaik further revealed that he was delighted when Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed Murmu's candidature during their meeting in Delhi days before the announcement, thereby giving an impression that he was taken into confidence before the PM finalised her name. Patnaik said Murmu will set a shining example for women's empowerment in the country.

After Patnaik returned to Odisha, the BJD went out of its way to garner support for Murmu. Patnaik appealed to all the members of the Odisha Assembly to go beyond their party affiliations to extend unanimous support to elect the `daughter of Odisha'.

Senior BJD leaders personally approached Congress legislators and Pradesh Congress Committee president Sarat Pattanayak requesting them to support Murmu's candidature. When BJD leaders met Congress Legislature Party leader Narasingha Mishra at his Assembly chamber, Patnaik spoke to him over the phone seeking support for Murmu. An Independent legislator from Rayagada, Makaranda Muduli, also met Patnaik and agreed to support Murmu upon his request.

Patnaik did not provide any scope for the Odisha BJP to take credit for Murmu's victory. When she came to campaign in Odisha, he invited her for lunch at his residence, and Murmu thanked him by terming him her brother. Murmu had tied rakhi to Patnaik in the past.

The day votes were counted, and Murmu became President-elect, the BJD celebrated her victory at its headquarters in Bhubaneswar. The party organised similar celebrations across the state. "Spoke to the daughter of Odisha, President-Elect Smt Droupadi Murmu, over the phone and wished her all the very best on behalf of the people of Odisha. The entire family of 4.5 crore people of Odisha are proud of her achievement," Patnaik tweeted.

Patnaik was doubly happy to support Murmu as his entire political journey has been centred on women's empowerment. The added advantage was that she was a tribal woman who had worked under him as a junior minister when the BJD and BJP ran an alliance government in Odisha. According to Census 2011, the Scheduled Tribes constitute more than 22.84 per cent of the state's total population.

Patnaik-led BJD government had increased reservation for women in the Panchayati raj institutions and urban local bodies from 33 per cent to 50 per cent. Another good example the BJD set was when it gave one-third of the party's Lok Sabha tickets to women in the 2019 elections. Pramila Bisoi, a self-help-group leader at the grassroots level, was elected to the Lok Sabha from the Aska seat, which Patnaik himself represented when starting his political career.

In the rural and urban local body elections held earlier this year, the number of women leaders elected in most panchayat and urban local bodies exceeded the limit across the state. When BJD broke all records by capturing Zilla Parishads in all 30 districts, it selected women presidents in 21 districts.

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In the 2019 elections, when Patnaik was re-elected for the fifth consecutive term with a massive majority, the BJP emerged as the principal opposition in the state, replacing the Congress. The saffron party got eight of the 21 Lok Sabha seats, with Modi emerging stronger than before at the national level.

Keeping his equidistance policy aside after the polls, Patnaik allowed, upon receiving phone calls from Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP nominee Ashwini Vaishnaw to get elected to the Rajya Sabha with BJD's support when the saffron party had no numbers to win the seat. In both the Houses of Parliament, the BJD supported the BJP government at the Centre on all critical issues.

In the process, Patnaik has made the opposition meek in the state. The BJP in Odisha has virtually stopped functioning as the main opposition in the aftermath of the 2019 elections. The fact that the BJP central leadership has been directly seeking Patnaik's support has indirectly weakened the Odisha unit of their party with each passing day.

This became further evident when he announced his party's support to NDA's Vice-President candidate Jagdeep Dhankhar after the PM telephoned him seeking his party's help. In the last vice president election, Patnaik supported opposition candidate Gopalkrishna Gandhi and opposed NDA's M Venkaiah Naidu.

On the other hand, the opposition Congress continues to remain weak, with its vote share decreasing in every election. For many decades, the Congress was heavily dependent on the support of the tribals and Murmu's victory has further eroded its support base. Besides, whoever in the Congress had some mass base has been lured by Patnaik in recent years, thereby making the party lose strength and grip in the state. Moquim's decision to vote for Murmu is also being seen in this context.

(The writer is a journalist based in Bhubaneswar)

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.