It was a surprising assembly and Lok Sabha election result in Odisha that brought the BJP to power. Even the BJP itself was not expecting such a marvellous achievement. Although the BJP is a cadre-based party, the organisational structure was not as strong as that of the BJD. The massive mandate towards the BJP indicates that it was the wish of the common people of Odisha to install the BJP government in the state and teach a lesson to the ruling BJD. The mandate clearly proves that there was a huge anti-establishment factor against the BJD. There is no doubt that the Naveen Babu government implemented many initiatives for the growth of infrastructure development of the state, and also there were many pro-poor schemes and also schemes for women. The freebies offered by the Naveen government were a win-win situation for both the government and the poor people. But somehow, there was huge internal squabbling inside the BJD with the dominance of bureaucracy being a major factor. The elected representatives of the BJD had no say in the state administration and inside the party. Naveen Babu, because of his health reasons or any other reason, relied too much upon the 5T secretary VK Pandian. And ultimately VK Pandian virtually ran the government and the party with his own vision. One cannot deny that VK Pandian was a very competent officer but in democracy people had voted in the name of Naveen Patnaik. Why Naveen Babu thoroughly depended on one officer only and why Naveen Babu did not allow any one from the cadres of the BJD is known only to him. But we cannot just blame VK Pandian for the fall of BJD government in Odisha, and in my considered view, Naveen Babu is also equally responsible for whatever mistakes VK Pandian did. And finally, the Pandian syndrome was also one of the reasons for the fall of the BJD government in Odisha. The BJP should also be obliged to VK Pandian for its massive mandate in Odisha. However, it is a fact that there was a strong Modi wave in the political milieu of Odisha. People wanted a political change for a better double-engine government in Odisha and they did it in style.
Now let’s discuss the challenges that the newly installed BJP government will face. The party rightly appointed a grassroots leader Mohan Majhi from the tribal community from a backward district Keonjhar, who was elected four times to the state assembly. He has also proved his credentials many times on the floor of the House as an effective opposition leader, representing the BJP. Mohan Majhi is a down-to-earth person and is accessible to all party cadres and the common man. From day one itself, Mohan Majhi has clearly stated that it is the government of the common man. This is a good start and now Mohan Majhi has to prove himself on different policy issues and state administration. He will face a strong and experienced opposition BJD. Every day, the people of Odisha will compare the Mohan Majhi with the clean image and personality of Naveen Patnaik. The new BJP government needs to meet the aspirations of the people while maintaining the state's growth trajectory, which was successfully managed by the previous government. The people of Odisha expect improvements in quality of life, unemployment issues, industrial growth, agriculture, and quality education. It is hoped that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will closely monitor the functioning of the state government in Odisha.
By Deepak Kumar Rath
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