Naveen Patnaik is a former five-time Chief Minister of Odisha (File).
Bhubaneswar:
Ex-Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s Biju Janata Dal – which helped ex-ally Bharatiya Janata Celebration move key payments within the Modi authorities’s first two phrases, when it lacked numbers within the Rajya Sabha – appears to have firmly switched sides now and labelled itself a “robust and vibrant opposition”.
“We are going to make the centre accountable on all points. BJD MPs will elevate all points pertaining to the state’s growth and the welfare of the folks of Odisha. Many rightful calls for have not been met,” the get together quoted Mr Patnaik after a gathering together with his 9 Rajya Sabha MPs in Bhubaneswar Monday.
“(We are going to) be the voice of 4.5 crore folks of Odisha in Parliament…”
The BJD’s assertive stance comes not solely after offering the BJP outdoors help on numerous points prior to now 10 years, however after breakdown in alliance talks in March, simply weeks earlier than the elections started.
Had these talks born fruit, the BJD and Mr Modi’s get together would have re-allied practically 15 years after a break up that prompted late BJP chief Sushma Swaraj to say Mr Patnaik would “remorse” snapping ties.
NDTV Explains | 15 Years After Break up, Naveen Patnaik’s BJD Hints At NDA Return
Up to now, help from the BJD and ex-Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy – his YSR Congress was ousted by the BJP’s ally, Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP – was essential on a number of events, such because the election of Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to the Rajya Sabha in 2009 and 2014.
Extra just lately, the BJD’s help additionally helped the BJP push via the Delhi companies invoice, ensured a no-confidence movement towards the Modi authorities flopped, and pushed via legal guidelines like Triple Talaq and the J&Okay Reorganisation Invoice.
BJD’s “Rightful Calls for” From BJP
The “rightful calls for”, the BJD’s assertion mentioned, ranged from ‘particular class’ standing for Odisha to housing and schooling for the poor, and from institution of premier medical establishments like All India Institute of Medical Sciences – “… not satellite tv for pc models” – to improved nationwide highways.
The get together additionally flagged social and financial points, together with the controversial subject of MSP, or minimal help worth, for farmers, which has been a bone of competition between the opposition and the BJP for the reason that violent protests of 2021/22. The BJD additionally mentioned it would “demand inclusion of 162 communities” within the state’s Scheduled Tribes record, which it mentioned it had been lobbying for “for a few years”.
All of this comes after thumping wins by Mr Modi’s get together within the Could-June Lok Sabha and Meeting elections. Within the former the BJP routed the BJD by profitable 20 of the state’s 21 seats and, within the latter, Mr Patnaik – who misplaced the Kantabanji seat to the BJP’s Laxman Bag – gained solely 51 of 147, down from 112 5 years in the past. The BJP secured 78 – 4 over majority – to kind its first Odisha authorities.
READ | “Oh, You Defeated Me”: BJD Boss Naveen Patnaik To BJP MLA
The dual defeats left Mr Patnaik firmly on the backfoot in a state he has dominated since 2000; his BJD had gained each Meeting ballot and over 50 per cent of Lok Sabha seats in every normal election.
Actually, the BJD has failed, for the primary time, to win even one Lok Sabha seat.
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The BJD, which had 12 Lok Sabha MPs in 2019, now has solely 9 within the Rajya Sabha. And that quantity might be minimize in half in 2026, when 4 Odisha seats – now held by the BJD – fall vacant.
“Will Be Robust Opposition”
Earlier immediately BJD chief Sasmit Patra mentioned get together boss Naveen Patnaik had given “clear directions to struggle for the rights of the state’s folks in Parliament”. “No extra help to BJP, solely opposition. We might go to any extent to guard the pursuits of Odisha,” he mentioned after Mr Patnaik’s assembly.
READ | Will Be “Robust Opposition” For BJP: Naveen Patnaik’s Celebration
Within the latest election the BJD was not a part of the Congress-led INDIA bloc, which united the opposition to stifle Mr Modi, the BJP, and the party-led Nationwide Democratic Alliance.
Mr Patnaik and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar – who helped discovered the INDIA group earlier than leaping ship to the NDA after inside rows – met in Could final 12 months however the BJD boss remained non-committal and handed off the assembly as one between “previous buddies and colleagues”.
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