Pradhan likely to be BJP’s CM face

Bhubaneswar, Aug 6 (Surjit Kumar Dhal) There are ripples in political circles after a section of the media here tried to disseminate news that Dharmendra Pradhan will in all probability be the Chief Minister face of the BJP during the 2024 Assembly Election in State. These news reports tried to justify their assumption in several ways. A section of people in the state started believing it. That is the reason why there are ripples in the State.

Cut to Pradhan. The Union Education, Skill Development and Entreprenuership  Minister  is a well known face in the State and his role during the 2019 Assembly election cannot be overlooked. He has travelled extensively across the State and virtually knows party cadre personally because of his campaigning during that period. Furthermore, he has risen higher in the national politics for his commitment and hard work. When Pradhan was given the charge of the Education portfolio during the reshuffle of Narendra Modi cabinet, many in state were surprised as that post is considered coveted. The portfolio in the past has been held by illustrious leaders. Pradhan also during his stint in the Petroleum & Natural Gas Ministry managed a large number of projects for the state under the ‘Look East’ policy of the party and government.

During the 2019 General Election, the BJP fared better. It won five seats in Western Odisha and two in coastal Odisha. But the party’s worry was the difference of six percent vote share between the Lok Sabha and Assembly results. The vote share in Lok Sabha was nearly 38 per cent while in the Assembly segment it was about 32 per cent. Hence the party, known for being in the election mode round the year, might have been prompted to analyse the issue. One of the major reason that the party was unable to garner as many seats as it predicted could have been due to lack of a Chief Minister face during the election. Hence Pradhan fits the bill well. Firstly, he is hyper active in the state unlike his fellow Lok Sabha MPs. The MPs from Western Odisha—Sangita Singhdeo, Suresh Pujari, Nitish Gangdeb, Jual Oram, Basant Panda from Kalahandi—where the party had fared well during the 2019 election appear to have gone into hibernation as a result of which BJP could not fare well in the panchayat and ULB elections and ceded ground to the ruling BJP.  Mayurbhanj MP Bishweshar Tudu has become a Union Minister and unable to devote more time to his constituency. The BJD also wrested the Balasore Assembly seat from the BJP in a bye-election. These issues have been troubling the party leadership greatly and they need someone to pump in more energy into the cadre to counter the growing influence of the BJD. Pradhan fits the bill as he is perhaps the most energetic in the party at present besides Aparajita Sarangi.

The BJD is wary after the BJP named firebrand MLA Jaynarayan Mishra as Leader of Opposition in the Assembly. Mishra is known for his antics and is likely to create problems for the ruling party in the Assembly.

In such situation the ruling party, embroiled in several controversies due to the reckless attitude of some of its MLAs, is certain to be wary notwithstanding the organizational skills of Organising Secretary Pranab Prakash Das. Master strategist Das, however, alone may not be handle the 113 seats the party has in its kitty at present as voices of resentment have reportedly emerged in a section of the party- both at Lok Sabha and Assembly segments. Kendrapara MP Anubhab Mohanty, who trounced BJP’s Baijayant Panda, is embroiled in family controversies.

It is true that the BJP this time alone cannot bank on the chit fund scam though some BJD leaders have faced legal actions. But considering the ‘never say die’ attitude of the saffron party, the BJD needs to be prepared to counter the possible growth under the leadership of Pradhan and Jaynarayan.