The BJP has resorted to poll blitzkrieg in Odisha with visits by its top leadership, prominently featuring Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the forefront — a saturation strategy seemingly aimed at reshaping the narrative as the State gears up for polls in just a week.
The BJP’s top leadership, including Mr. Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan will crisscross the State for poll campaign this week.
Bhupendra Yadav, Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, has been assigned the task of State BJP’s election management, with him based out of Bhubaneswar.
Mr. Modi is arriving on a two-day visit to the State on Sunday. After making a night halt at the Raj Bhawan here, he would fly down to Berhampur and Nabarangpur for addressing two public meetings on May 6. He may return to the State for holding a roadshow in Bhubaneswar on May 10, though the schedule has not been finalised. The Prime Minister is scheduled to visit Odisha in all four phases of elections to bolster the prospects of party candidates.
Intellectual meets
Mr. Jaishankar has been tasked with addressing intellectual meets in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Sambalpur. The External Affairs Minister who arrived in Bhubaneswar on May 4 is highlighting improvement in India’s global image under Mr. Modi rule. Similarly, Mr. Singh is scheduled to address a rally in Rayagada on May 8. Mr. Vaishnaw, who was former District Collector of Balasore, has been asked to help the party candidate Pratap Sarangi from there.
The Odisha unit of the BJP has been informed about the possible visit of Home Minister Amit Shah and Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari next week. Places have, however, not been finalised.
According to State BJP sources, the back-to-back visits by the top BJP leadership are intended to keep people of Odisha hooked to speeches of the leaders and discuss the content next day. On April 28, Mr. Nadda and Mr. Modi harped on the issue of Odia Asmita (Odia Pride) in a veiled attack on V. K. Pandian, close aide of Odisha Chief Minister. The issue of Odia Asmita has been reiterated in election campaigning by all other leaders, which appears to be well-crafted election strategy.
“The BJP has somehow identified the desire to change of regime in Odisha after 24-year-rule by a single party. As the saffron party is expected to get fewer seats in north India where it has saturated in the 2019 elections, Odisha could be the ideal State for them to compensate some seats,” said Rabi Dash, senior journalist and political commentator.
“There has been fatigue in the leadership of the Biju Janata Dal. People are unable to find established political faces beyond Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. With the number of meetings held by the Odisha Chief Minister during election campaigning coming down drastically this year, the BJP is out to change narratives by fielding its top leadership,” said Mr. Dash.
Mr. Pradhan, who initially concentrated in the Sambalpur Lok Sabha constituency, as he is contesting a direct election after a gap of 15 years, is seen moving out to other districts, addressing rallies and holding closed-door meetings with the local leadership.
Leaders from States like Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Tripura, where the voting has been completed in most of the seats, have been camping in the State to keep the BJP workers on their toes. According to BJP insiders, the role of leaders from outside State is to ensure that no complacency or fatigue grow in minds of Odisha BJP workers and specific task is evenly distributed in every constituency. Former Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumbar Deb is seen actively participating in BJP’s election strategy meetings in Odisha. As many as 28 Assembly seats and four Lok Sabha seats are going to polls on May 13.
