Why Naveen’s Leadership and BJD’s Governance Remains At The Heart of The People

Bhubaneswar: Every other day in newspapers and television channels, we read and see stories how scores of political leaders and workers from various parties are joining the Biju Janata Dal. This has been a regular affair with the BJD for a long time now. Each day, the party is getting more and more stronger with both prominent leaders and grassroots workers from other parties are getting attached with the twenty four years old party led by Naveen Patnaik. While in other states and national scenario, we see political affiliations getting changed only during the election times, it is not the same in Odisha. It has been a regular feature in the state and the maximum people joining are into the Biju Janata Dal. One thing that is important to ponder upon is, in Odisha the trend has been one sided and all joinings are happening into the Biju Janata Dal. With all these joinings, the Biju Janata Dal is getting more and more stronger and the stature of Naveen Patnaik as the leader of Odisha is getting more and more bigger.

While all the elections held in the last two decades in Odisha – be it General Elections, Assembly Elections or the grassroots Panchayat Elections, the people’s mandate has been on the leadership of Naveen Patnaik and Biju Janata Dal. While in terms of number of seats won, the Biju Janata Dal remains at the top, in terms of percentage of votes also the Biju Janata Dal is at the helm. The people of Odisha have seen what true development is under Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s leadership. The transformation of Odisha has been a result of the unimpeachable governance and leadership. Attracted with this, a large number of leaders from various parties including the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress are joining the Biju Janata Dal. The emerging political scenario shows that Naveen is the focal point in attracting leaders and workers from all walks of life towards the BJD. On the other hand, the inability of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress in winning the people’s faith is resulting in mass exodus of leaders.

The recent events such as the joining of Pradeep Majhi, former Member of Parliament from Nabarangpur, in Biju Janata Dal shows that if you want to serve the people of the state, the only way left is to associate yourself with the people’s mandate. Pradeep is an important tribal leader from South Odisha and was suffocating in the internal tussles in the Congress. He saw an opportunity in the Biju Janata Dal to serve the people and accepted the leadership of Naveen Patnaik. The same is with the two other strong leaders of Koraput – Kailash Kulesika and Chandra Sekhar Majhi who reposed faith in the leadership if Naveen. While it is going to strengthen the Biju Janata Dal, it will also help fasten the development process of the region.

Former State Executive Member of the Bharatiya Janata Party and former block chairman of Dharmasala in Jajpur district Ramesh Chandra Parida along with his supporters joined the Biju Janata Dal last month. This proves that the BJP is failing in keeping its base intact. It has lost the people’s faith and no longer in a position to convince its leadership at the district level that it has any chances in the coming Panchayat elections. Another strongman from the BJP, Biswaranjan Mallick, joined the ruling party of Odisha, BJD few days back. Biswaranjan is a strong leader with mass support in Jajpur. Along with him a large number of grassroots workers and leaders including Bari panchayat Samiti chairperson Subasini Sharma, vice-chairman Ramesh Chandra Bhanja and Zilla Parishad member Ranjita Samal had also joined the Biju Janata Dal.

The reason behind the Biju Janata Dal’s present stature is the leadership of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and the team of experienced and hard working party leaders and workers. The mix of experienced leadership and young minds has helped the party to reach out to all the sections of the society. The role of young leaders such as Pranab Prakash Das, Organising Secretary of the party, cannot be overlooked. He has been tirelessly working to strengthen the party at the state and grassroots level by bringing in support from various quarters. In recent times, all the joining programs happened in the party are an outcome of his negotiation skills and understanding of the political scenarios in various districts.

The Biju Janata Dal has been striving to bring equitable development in the state. It’s thrust has been to accommodate all in the progress of the state. In its organizational set up also shows that all regions and communities are evenly represented. The agenda for the Naveen led government has been more on Women. They constitute the most important part be it the party organization or the Government. Fifty percent of the seats in Panchayats are reserved for the Women in Odisha. The Biju Janata Dal was the first political Party in the country to give 33 percent tickets to women candidates in the Parliament Elections in 2019.

Recently, Naveen announced that the Biju Janata Dal will field 27 percent OBC candidates in the forthcoming Panchayat elections – a practical step that brings more laurels. Each and every step taken by the Party is important for bringing in equality. The Biju Janata Dal has become a role model for all and a political identity that all want to be associated with. The joining of mass leaders into its fold is going to help the Biju Janata Dal prepare itself for the future with more muscle.