The Naveen Patnaik-headed ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) faces adverse election prospects in western Odisha in view of the intensifying agitation in the region on the demand for establishment of a permanent High Court Bench there.
The regional outfit seems to be heading for an uphill task in term of electoral fortune in the western as well as in southern regions. And in the coastal districts comprising 70 out of the 147 Assembly constituencies, the BJD’s traditional support base, the party is unlikely to retain the last time’s overwhelming degree of poll success in view of several issues like corruption and worsening law and order.
The findings of some of the recent surveys in favour of the BJD notwithstanding, the ground reality appears something different. The lawyers’ agitation in as many as 10 western Odisha districts is ominous for the ruling party.
The situation has taken such a turn that the BJD units in the western region themselves have buckled down before the lawyers and are openly backing their agitation for boycott of the urban local body polls scheduled for September 19.
BJD Sambalpur district president Rohit Pujari had even to invite the television journalists and announce that his party also supports the cause of a High Court Bench in western Odisha. Sambalpur is the principal part of the western region.
Out of sheer political compulsion, the BJD had no alternative than backing the sensitive demand. The Opposition Congress and BJP had already thrown their weight behind the lawyers’ stir. Not to participate in the urban polls was a difficult decision for the BJD in the region, but there was no option for it as it did not risk being isolated on such a popular regional issue.
As such, the BJD’s strength is not comfortable in western Odisha as evident from its previous election results. In the districts like Jharsuguda, Sundargarh, Kalahandi, Balangir, Bargarh and Sambalpur, the BJD’s vote share is less than that of the Opposition parties.
Most of the districts in western Odisha have come together and are accusing the Naveen Patnaik Government of not helping them establish a HC Bench even being in power for 14 long years.
The Government set up a commission of inquiry headed by Justice CR Pal to go into the HC Bench issue, but it was only to delay the process, feel people in the western region. All the Government offices and judicial courts have remained closed in the region since August 20. It is not possible for a handful of lawyers to paralyse the entire region; it is, in fact, due to active support of local people. The region has 35 Assembly seats, out of which the BJD’s strength is 10 at present.
The people of the western region had earlier also united against the BJD Government when it signed an MoU for establishment of a hydropower project at Sindol and the Government had to scrap the MoU.
That the BJD leaders in western Odisha are isolated is evident from the fact that Finance Minister Prasanna Acharya and Industries Minister Niranjan Pujari, considered to be influential in the region, have failed to come to the aid of the party in the present situation. Both the Ministers have a severe disconnect with party workers. In Balangir, AU Singh Deo is also losing the grip for the party after his ouster from the Cabinet.To add to Naveen Patnaik’s western Odisha shocks, the demand for a separate Kosal State is also gaining ground in the region.
The situation for the BJD in the southern districts is also unfavourable. The Government’s proposed bauxite mining atop the Niyamgiri Hills is a major issue in Kalahandi and Rayagada districts. In all the recently-held Palli Sabhas, the entire tribal population went against the Government’s decision. As such, the Congress had fared much better than the BJD in the 2009 elections in Kalahandi district. In the 2009 polls, BJD bagged three out of five Assembly seats in Koraput district. In Rayagada, the BJD got two of the three seats.