Bhubaneswar: Claiming that many leaders of Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and Congress are keen to join NDA, BJP’s Odisha unit president Manmohan Samal on Tuesday said the party is yet to take a decision on inducting them into the organisation.
“Leaders of BJD and Congress are in touch with BJP and we are keeping our mind open. While our doors are open, we are yet to take a decision on the matter,” Samal, a Rajya Sabha MP, told reporters.
Stating that the political situation is different in every state, the state BJP chief said that the parliamentary board of the party will take a decision after analysing the situation.
On Maharashtra and Bengal witnessing escalating crisis in major political parties, Samal said that the situation in Odisha is different and the party will take a decision after a thorough analysis of the ground position.
Samal’s remarks came close on the heels of a similar statement made by senior BJP leader and party MP Pradeep Purohit. He has claimed that BJD will suffer the same fate as TMC and Shiv Sena.
While TMC is divided into 3 groups in West Bengal, Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena has been split into two in Maharashtra and now BJD is going to face the same situation in Odisha, claimed Purohit.
After Naveen Patnaik’s exit from power, party leaders are not feeling safe under his leadership, he said, claiming that a large group of BJD MLAs are in talks with the BJP leadership, and they wish to join the saffron party to secure their political future.
Following these claims, BJD MLA Arun Sahoo took a swipe at the Mohan Majhi government, pointing to the vacant six cabinet berths even after two years. “Additionally, around 90 to 97 per cent of chairperson and president positions across various state corporations, academies, and organisations have not been filled,” he said, attributing these delays to internal conflict in the state BJP.
Sahoo claimed the leadership is paralysed by a dilemma over who to include or exclude from the ministry, fearing that anyone left out will spark a major “explosion” within the party. “To suppress this growing discontent, they are intentionally avoiding cabinet expansion and institutional appointments,” he added.
The BJD leader emphasises that public anger and resentment toward the ruling party have steadily intensified over the last two years as the government has failed to deliver amid tall talks. Sahoo described the recent interaction of the Chief Minister with social media influencers to project the government’s achievements over the two-year period, as a damage-control tactic.
He noted that the ruling party might be considering “Operation Lotus” — a repeat of the Rajya Sabha strategy where BJD members Mamata Mohanta, Sujeet Kumar, and Debashish Samantaray defected to the BJP and were re-elected to the Upper House for the rest of their terms. “But I doubt it will succeed,” he added.
