BJD suspending Jay Panda exposes rifts within Odisha's ruling party
In a high-voltage development, member of Parliament in Rajya Sabha from Biju Janata Dal (BJD), Baijayant Jay Panda, has been suspended by the party over "anti-party activities", as the repeated clashes with the BJD supremo and Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik have clearly proved costly for the politician.
As reports of the "disciplinary action" against Panda, a four-time MP keep pouring in, the 54-year-old MP has tweeted his shock at the development, saying the "allegations" against him were "baseless". It must be remembered that Panda was removed as BJD's parliamentary party spokesperson in 2017 in the wake of an unfavourable opinion piece on BJD leadership.
#BJD chief Naveen Patnaik suspends MP #BaijayantPanda from party on disciplinary grounds: BJD vice president S N Patro.
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) January 24, 2018
Biju Janata Dal President Naveen Patnaik suspends Baijayant Panda from the primary membership of party with immediate effect on grounds of 'anti-party activities'. (File pic) pic.twitter.com/H9dBiABIjY
— ANI (@ANI) January 24, 2018
*I'm shocked at this news *Very very sad @Naveen_Odisha didn't see thru the conspiracy agnst me led by an IAS ofcr now controlling th party*I vehemently deny the allegations agnst me, they are entirely false & baseless*I will pray to Jagannath for guidance b4 i respond further
— Baijayant Jay Panda (@PandaJay) January 24, 2018
"BJD chief Naveen Patnaik suspends MP Baijayant Panda from the party on disciplinary grounds," party vice-president SN Patro has told media persons on Wednesday, January 24 evening, which has come after speculations over the growing rift between CM Patnaik and Panda have been all over in the media.
In fact, according to reports, CM Patnaik had "ordered inquiry" into Panda's conduct towards BJD workers, and had appointed Cuttack district observer from BJD, Usha Devi, to carry it out. In addition, the tensions between CM Patnaik and Panda had spilled out in the open with several speculative columns and reports on the rather public tiff between the two, with many looking at Panda as "softening" towards the Bharatiya Janata Party's aggressive pitch to make inroads in the eastern state.
An NDTV article has extensively analysed the rift pitching it as a "huge opening for Amit Shah", the BJP national president, to execute the pre-poll alliances in the state that has just 18 months for the next Assembly elections. With current chief minister Naveen Patnaik in his fourth stint in government, BJP seeks to exploit the narrative of corruption that Panda has apparently been red-flagging for a while now.
R Balashankar, who's a member of the BJP's Central Committee on Training, as well as the Committee on Publications, and former convener BJP's National Intellectual Cell and former editor of the RSS mouthpiece, Organiser, has pegged the tensions over the "mining contracts controversies", saying Panda's public criticism of Patnaik has gained traction at a time when there's anti-incumbency in the state. Balashankar has said that the BJP is interested in projecting Union petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who also accompanied Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Davos' World Economic Forum, as Odisha chief ministerial candidate from BJP.
Spotting the opportunity to forge new alliances, it's evident that BJP seeks to exploit the rift to the fullest, which, after the official sacking of Panda from BJD, is now completely a public spat. Moreover, Panda's lavish praise of PM Modi has been commented upon both on social media and in oped pages of newspapers. Given that Panda himself is an industrialist with stakes in the local media, it's fair to say that the suspended BJD MP too has his share of influence in the political and policy corridors.
With Panda raising the stink over corruption in not just mining contracts but also the Odisha chit funds investigations with CBI, this sacking of the four-time legislator from the party might be viewed as an olive branch by the rival BJP to welcome him into the saffron fold. Given that the parliamentary seats in Odisha were convincingly won by the BJD - just one was won by the BJP - the balance might tilt in the BJP's favour after this crack in the edifice.
While CM Naveen Patnaik remains invincible politically, containing rebellion as they raise their heads through years, especially with the POSCO agitations, the current spell of differences with Panda might prove to be more durable than before. Especially because the BJP is waiting to pounce on this political vacuum and exploit it to the hilt to shape the narrative on corruption, governance, Hindutva and political violence, something it's a veteran at engineering.