BJD To Modify Strategy For Padampur Bypoll In Odisha

Bhubaneswar: After defeat in Dhamnagar by-election which saw an open revolt against its leadership, Odisha’s ruling BJD now seems to be gearing up for the forthcoming Padampur Assembly bypoll by rolling out modified strategies.

As the Naveen Patnaik-led regional party faced its first poll debacle since 2019 general elections, many of its leaders are believed to have emphasised the need for a course correction and introspection while reworking future strategies.

They are of the opinion that the ruling party needs to thoroughly review the strategies adopted by it so far and initiate necessary changes after Dhamnagar fiasco which saw its first defeat in a by-election since 2009.

With by-election to Padampur Assembly constituency in Bargarh district barely a month away, the Chief Minister and BJD president is stated to have already spoken to key leaders from western Odisha regarding selection of candidate for the bypoll scheduled to be held on December 5.

The bypoll has been necessitated following the demise of 64-year-old prominent tribal leader and party MLA Bijaya Ranjan Singh Bariha on October 3. The five-time legislator had also worked as a minister in the Naveen government.

Questions are now being raised about the selection of the candidate for Dhamnagar. Many feel that the selection of party candidate triggered an open revolt by BJD heavyweight and former legislator Rajendra Kumar Das against the leadership. Despite all out efforts, the ruling party failed to convince Das who contested the bypoll as an independent candidate.

A sizeable section of the ruling party stood solidly behind Das who bagged substantial number of votes which seemed to have made the crucial difference.

Despite Naveen’s clean image and the woman card that his party played in Dhamnagar, BJD appeared  to have lost the seat primarily because of the dissidence factor and wrong selection of candidate. Therefore, observers say, the party must adopt a cautious approach and consult senior leaders before selecting the candidate for Padampur bypoll.

As the woman card played by the BJD banking on the votes of self help groups (SHGs) under the Mission Shakti initiative failed to yield result, many now are of the view that the party needs to have a relook at this strategy. The party had fielded Tihidi block chairperson Abanti Das, who has vast experience in Mission Shakti movement, triggering revolt by Rajendra Das and his supporters.

Before redesigning its strategies for Padampur bypoll, the ruling party needs to build a consensus on selection of candidate. During its 22 years of rule in Odisha, the regional party has lost only three by-elections, but the first two defeats at Talsara and Laxmipur in 2006 and 2008 respectively took place when it was in coalition government in the state. Dhamnagar debacle is only defeat after 2009 when the party severed its ties with the BJP.

Since 2019, the ruling party had won five by-elections in Tirtol, Pipili, Balasore, Bijepur and Brajranagar.

BJD sources said its candidate for Padampur is likely to be announced after November 11. Bariha’s wife and daughter as well as an Odisha Administrative Service (OAS) official are among the front-runners for a BJD ticket. One MLA each has been assigned to look after the organisational base in the eight zilla parishad zones in the constituency. Three ministers (Naba Kishore Das, Rajendra Dholakia and Niranjan Pujari) have been assigned to look after the party’s campaigns in three blocks — Padampur, Paikmal and Jharbandh, a source said.

In an apparent bid to woo voters ahead of the Padampur bypoll, Naveen had recently inaugurated and laid foundation stones for a number of projects worth around Rs 488 crore for the region.