Naveen Likely To Infuse BJD With Fresh Energy In 2023 With Eye On 2024 Twin Elections

Bhubaneswar: Buoyed by a thumping victory in the recent Padampur by-elections, the ruling BJD may go for a rejig of party office bearers and possibly the ministry to give a fresh impetus ahead of 2024 polls.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and BJD president Naveen Patnaik has in recent days been meeting party leaders and is believed to be working on a plan to reward performers and strike a better balance between veterans and young leaders.

According to party insiders, Naveen may reactivate and rejuvenate the party organisation in an unremitting bid to maintain its winning streak and effect a minor reshuffle in his ministry in 2023 after his annual visit to Jagannath Temple in Puri for darshan of the sibling deities while heralding the New Year.

It is believed that BJD leaders of western Odisha, who scripted the spectacular win for the party in Padampur bypolls, could be assigned important tasks. Sushanta Singh may also make a comeback in Naveen ministry.

In June, Naveen had inducted 21 ministers including 7 first-timers and three women, a day after his entire cabinet resigned en masse paving way for cleansing the ministry of several controversial faces. Singh, who held the labour and employees state insurance portfolio, was one of the casualties. The reshuffle had come a few months after the party emerged victorious in the panchayat and civic body elections and was intended at adding momentum to several welfare measures being undertaken by the government.

Experts opinioned that the BJD would strive for the unity exhibited during the bypoll in Padampur, which helped it to trounce the rival BJP by over 42,000 votes after the Dhamnagar debacle where dissidence queered the party’s pitch and stalled its winning spree after five bypolls.

The BJD has visibly become more serious about the elections after the Dhamnagar defeat and the move is ostensibly being contemplated keeping in view the newfound aggression of the BJP, which is eyeing to grab power in Odisha in 2024.

In August, Union Home minister Amit Shah had during a visit to Bhubaneswar said his party would come to power in the state in the next elections. The saffron party is seemingly enthused after retaining Dhamnagar bypoll in November. Though the BJP could not stop the BJD in Padampur, the party has begun a post-mortem with the involvement of central leader Sunil Bansal.