In the current city and rural native physique elections in Odisha, the principal Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) suffered a extreme setback, even because the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) swept the polls once more. In the three-tier panchayat elections held in February, the BJP gained 42 Zilla Parishad seats, down from 297 it had bagged within the 2017 polls. In the March city native physique (ULB) polls, the saffron celebration might handle to get simply 16 out of 105 ULBs.
The Odisha BJP’s president Samir Mohanty, nonetheless, describes his celebration’s efficiency in these polls as “satisfactory”. In an interview with The Indian Express, he talks about numerous points together with the saffron celebration’s plans and preparations for the 2024 Lok Sabha and state Assembly polls. Excerpts:
BJP suffered a critical blow within the current polls following its promising leads to the 2017 rural native physique polls in addition to the 2019 Parliamentary and Assembly elections? How has the celebration assessed its present losses?
We have been scrutinizing our efficiency, district and constituency-wise. The outcomes should even be assessed from the standpoint of vote share. In 2019, our vote share was 38 per cent in Parliamentary elections and 32 per cent within the simultaneously-conducted Assembly polls.
In the current native physique polls, the BJP’s vote share was 30.7 per cent. But, we’re assessing our bottlenecks. Unlike earlier occasions, it was a brand new kind of election, which all people was not aware of. (In the three-tier panchayat elections, it was for the primary time that votes have been counted centrally on the block headquarters for 3 days. In city native physique elections, for the primary time direct elections passed off for the posts of chairpersons and mayors) . Our work was not election-driven however for the folks. The elections have been held for over 90,000 wards and over 6,000 panchayats…the train was huge and our celebration staff didn’t know the brand new system. We additionally raised complaints, however the authorities officers didn’t cooperate on the micro stage.
Even through the Covid pandemic, our celebration staff have been out on the street, working…not like different political events, who have been in isolation. Our celebration was not working with election in thoughts however with a way of serving the folks.
On December 14, 2021, the Odisha State Election Commission was purported to finalize the panchayat ballot dates, nevertheless it was deferred to December 18, and was finally notified in January. This delayed the method of finalizing of the voters listing. During this era, nonetheless, the Naveen Patnaik-led BJD authorities, whereas being conscious of those dates, prolonged the Covid support to the folks simply forward of the polls. Despite all odds, our efficiency was passable although.
There was a way of dissatisfaction among the many BJP staff who attributed these reverses to the absence of the central celebration leaders from the ballot marketing campaign. What is your take?
Parliament was in session throughout that point that stored our central leaders and MPs occupied. Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who may be very fashionable amongst our celebration staff and is aware of our roadmap right here, was given the duty of UP elections. Due to those elements, which have been of nationwide significance, they may not spare time within the state. But had they spent a while through the elections right here, our vote share might have been higher.
The outcomes of those polls established that Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik continues to be fashionable among the many Odisha lots. How would the BJP problem the BJD’s continued progress?
In his fifth time period because the CM, Naveen Patnaik has misplaced his credibility. The regulation minister (Pratap Jena) continues to occupy his submit within the Cabinet and the celebration even after a judicial Justice of the Peace of first-class court docket directed the police to analyze the minister’s function in a double-murder case.
From day one, we have now been holding the BJD authorities and their leaders accountable for failing to implement the centrally-sponsored schemes and disburse help amongst folks. During 2015-2020, the cash supplied underneath the 14th Finance Commission was not utilized for the folks however for corruption. The state authorities utterly fails on the stage of execution. For occasion, take MGNREGA. Odisha noticed an enormous inflow of its folks within the state through the pandemic. MGNREGA wages have been additionally elevated, 200 mandays have been assured. But the state authorities did not implement it. The authorities did not retain these folks, who’ve resorted to migration once more.
The celebration (BJD) makes use of folks under the poverty line to vote financial institution politics, however doesn’t empower them. Farmers, ladies…all of them are merely a vote financial institution for them. The state authorities has solely resorted to copy-paste politics enabling extra corruption. And we have now been making an attempt to convey this farce to the fore.
Despite the BJP being the principle Opposition in Odisha, there’s a widespread notion in regards to the amicable bond between the BJP and the BJD on the central stage, which impacts the celebration’s prospects within the state. How do you see this?
This is a false political narrative. We are the one celebration in Odisha which has always registered a progress. From 0.6 % votes and a single seat in 1985 to the present stage, the celebration has solely seen progress within the state. Had this narrative been true, why are our celebration members being killed in political violence, why are they despatched to jail on baseless? In this federal construction of presidency, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has by no means stored a slender political outlook. The BJP has all the time been pro-people and pro-poor, and the celebration is simply involved about that.
One of the contentious points between the BJP and the BJD has been their competing claims for credit over numerous authorities schemes for the lots. What is the BJP’s place on the difficulty?
The schemes are all the time duplicated however by no means executed properly. And due to this, the folks endure. Because of the lackadaisical execution of the schemes within the state, there may be enormous corruption. BJP MLAs and MPs have raised this concern a number of occasions. The central authorities groups have visited the state to survey discrepancies in housing and agricultural schemes. Reports submitted by these groups to the chief secretary expose corruption to the tune of Rs 1,000 crore within the execution of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna within the state, however no motion is taken ever. The Prime Minister himself had requested for the implementation of the Ayushmaan Bharat scheme, however this well being scheme is but to be carried out in Odisha. The state runs on defective insurance policies.
How is the BJP making ready for the 2024 Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in Odisha?
Our political narrative is about empowering folks in a real sense. Our ballot technique will probably be to unfold consciousness amongst folks towards the Patnaik authorities’s mismanagement on points like electrical energy, Dalit and tribal rights…But finally, the folks of Odisha will determine.
,
With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
