When Nuapada votes on November 11, the ramifications of the bypoll will resonate far beyond the tribal-dominated seat in western Odisha.
It will be the first electoral test for BJP chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi since taking up the top job last year. It will also be a bellwether of the popularity of Naveen Patnaik, who straddled the state’s politics like a monolith for 24 years, and his BJD after being voted out last year.
Naveen, whose loss has ironically evoked widespread outpouring of sympathy and warm recognition of his contribution to the development of the state, has shed his seeming political somnolence in the run-up to last year’s polls and plunged headlong into the campaign in Nuapada. The BJD patriarch and five-term chief minister is to hold a public meeting in Nuapada on Monday and roadshow on November 7.
What has greatly raised the sweepstakes is the BJP’s candidate — Jay Dholakia, son of four-time local BJD MLA Rajendra Dholakia whose death has necessitated the bypoll, has been given the ticket after he switched to the ruling party on October 11. A shellshocked BJD has nominated party women’s wing president and former minister Snehangini Chhuria after failing to find a local candidate.
On Naveen’s visit, BJD spokesperson Lenin Mohanty said: “Our party president has already announced that he would be visiting Nuapada. Such is the euphoria of Naveen, across the state and particularly in Nuapada, that his visit would change the entire narrative.”
During the 2024 general elections, Naveen did not campaign much and had instead handed over the reins to his trusted aide V.K. Pandian.
Ahead of his visit, the political atmosphere has suddenly become charged in Nuapada. Police have raided the house of former minister Preeti Ranjan Ghadai, who is managing the election on behalf of the BJD.
The BJP has mobilised all its leaders, with almost all cabinet ministers visiting the constituency. Even before the party’s formal campaign began, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had visited Sambalpur in western Odisha on September 27, virtually launching the campaign and praising Majhi as “hard working and popular.”
All state BJP leaders have been instructed to remain in the constituency till the end of the bypoll. “In the absence of Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who had actively contributed to the party’s victory, it is now time for chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi to prove himself. If he falters, the demand for Majhi’s ouster will pick up within the party, particularly from rivals who are currently silent fearing a central reprimand,” said a veteran journalist.
BJP state unit president Manmohan Samal said: “The people’s blessings are with us. They seek change and development.”
The outcome of the bypoll will also be crucial for the Congress, which is seeking to revive its base in Odisha. Aware of the stakes, the party has roped in leaders from outside for its campaign.
Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Bhakta Charan Das on Sunday announced that Telangana chief minister Revanth Reddy would campaign for Congress candidate Ghasiram Majhi on November 7.
Senior Congress leader Prasad Harichandan said: “People are fed up with both the BJD and the BJP. They will give their verdict in favour of Congress candidate Ghasiram Majhi, a local tribal leader.”