BJD stays away from Odisha bandh, maintains equidistance from BJP, Congress
The Naveen Patnaik-led BJD on Wednesday decided neither to support nor oppose Thursday's Odisha bandh called by INDIA bloc parties, maintaining its policy of staying equidistant from the BJP-led NDA and the Congress-led opposition alliance.
The decision came a day after BJD leaders joined opposition parties in Delhi in a protest seeking the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Nine INDIA bloc parties have called a 12-hour bandh on October 8 against the new mining law, alleged errors in school textbooks and the SIR exercise.
The parties are also demanding the resignation of Odisha School and Mass Education Minister Nityananda Gond over alleged errors in textbooks.
"BJD is neither supporting nor opposing the bandh called for tomorrow. As we focus on the rights of the people in Odisha, we remain equidistant from both the BJP and Congress," BJD media coordinator Lenin Mohanty told reporters.
Mohanty said some BJD leaders had favoured supporting the bandh, but the party eventually decided to adhere to its policy of maintaining equidistance from both political blocs.
He said the BJD had independently opposed several policies of the BJP government, including the MMDR Amendment Act, 2026, and had protested against alleged errors in school textbooks.
"We opposed the MMDR Amendment Act 2026 and went to the streets. We also protested against books consisting of more than 1,800 errors," he said.
Mohanty said the BJD had also joined opposition parties in their Delhi march demanding Kumar's resignation over alleged disenfranchisement of voters through the SIR exercise.
"As we are working for the cause of the state, other political parties are also carrying out their programmes," he said.
Meanwhile, INDIA bloc parties intensified preparations for the bandh, with leaders of the Congress, CPI, CPI(M), CPI(ML) Liberation, Forward Bloc, NCP (Sharad Pawar), Samajwadi Party, RJD and JMM meeting in Bhubaneswar and appealing to people to participate in the strike.
The parties also organised a torchlight rally and took a pledge to protect Article 326 of the Constitution, which provides for elections to the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies on the basis of adult suffrage.
They said essential services, including hospitals, ambulances, fire services, medicine shops and milk supply, would remain exempt from the bandh.
Odisha BJP president Manmohan Samal said the bandh would have no impact on people.
The state government directed district collectors and superintendents of police to take necessary measures to maintain law and order during the bandh.
