Leader of the Opposition and former Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik was unanimously elected president of Biju Janata Dal (BJD) for the ninth consecutive term on Saturday.
After being elected as the party’s president, Naveen asked party workers to counter the BJP’s false narratives. “We missed the last election with a narrow margin, even though the BJD got more popular votes. This is because we couldn’t effectively counter the false narrative. Even now, creating a false narrative is the main strategy against the BJD. We should be aggressive in exposing this false narrative, especially on social media. Let me be honest in saying that we need to strongly improve our social media presence. Technology should be used to tell facts and without technology we can not reach out to people,” Naveen said.
Naveen said that the party got the opportunity to serve the people from 2000 to 2024, and it was a golden period for Odisha. “Odisha emerged as a model state for its pioneering work in different sectors,” he said.
Naveen warned the Opposition not to underestimate the organisational strength of the BJD. “The spirit of the workers of the BJD is high. They are the assets of the party. Whether the party remains in power or not, it would continue to work for the people of the state,” Naveen said
Naveen said the empowerment of Odisha was the party’s prime focus “Regional development is our focus. The party is always connected with the Odia pride and the interests of Odisha. We will continue to fight for our just demand. The Odia pride and interest is above everything,” he said.
Naveen had filed the nomination paper for the party president’s post on Thursday, and the result was announced on Saturday. The last eight terms were not challenging for Naveen as he was in power. There was an entire apparatus to support him at every step. He hardly intervened in party affairs. However, the equation has changed following the party’s defeat in the last election.
His ninth term as BJD president is likely to be a challenging one. The party is already fraught with disputes and divisions. BJD leaders have started questioning the party’s stand and demanded that the wings of V.K. Pandian, a close aide of Naveen, be clipped. Naveen depends on Pandian for all his decisions. However, following the division of BJD votes during the passing of the waqf act and the BJD’s Rajya Sabha leader Sasmit Patra’s call for “conscience voting”, the party was divided. “It’s to be seen how Naveen is going to strike a balance,” said a political analyst.
On the other hand, it’s to be seen how the party performs its role as an effective Opposition party in Odisha. The BJD has already faced criticism for taking a soft stance towards the BJP, and many allege that it is in cahoots with the BJP. The Congress, though it has only 14 MLAs in the Odisha Assembly, is emerging as the principal Opposition.
BJP state president Manmohan Samal said: “We congratulate Naveen for being the BJD president again. However, people have rejected the BJD’s governance model and they repose faith in the BJP.The BJD should clarify the false narrative allegations against the BJP.”
