Bhubaneswar: Chief minister and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) president Naveen Patnaik is set to bow out of power after holding the reins of the state for 24 years with BJP sweeping both Lok Sabha and assembly polls in the state.

At the time of reporting the saffron party had won 32 seats in the 147-strong assembly and was leading on 47, thus heading for a clear majority. In contrast, the BJD had won 27 and was leading on 23 with chief minister trailing in Kantabanji, the second seat he is contesting from besides his traditional seat of Hinjili.  The Congress improved its performance of 2019 and won six seats and established a lead on nine other seats as counting reached the final stages.

The BJD suffered a humiliating defeat in the Lok Sabha with the party ahead on the sole seat of Jajpur which has been its stronghold since 1999. While Congress seems likely to retain the Koraput seat, BJP candidates had established firm leads on all other 19 Lok Sabha seats in the state. Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan had won the Sambalpur seat with only an official announcement awaited. The party was likely to win all the 19 seats.

Some of the BJD heavyweights who fell by the wayside included Pranab Prakash Das aka Bobby who lost to Dharmendra Pradhan from Sambalpur Lok Sabha constituency. In the state assembly minister Ashok Panda lost from Bhubaneswar Ekamra constituency. Reports said that senior minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak had also lost from Mahakalpada. Former union minister and BJP candidate from Rourkela Dilip Ray also lost.

The saffron sweep in the Lok Sabha constituencies was not unexpected considering that the party had concentrated its entire energy on increasing its Lok Sabha tally in a bid to compensate the losses that it anticipated in some of the heartland states. It was even supposed to increase its 2019 assembly tally of 23 but an outright victory for the party has boosted its morale.  

The credit for BJP’s spectacular performance in the state should go  to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s aggressive campaigning in the state. He took a gamble by targeting chief minister Naveen Patnaik and also his Man Friday bureaucrat-turned-politician VK Pandian. The high voltage campaign often turned acrimonious with Prime Minister not shying away from making personal attacks against Patnaik who was forced to respond. Pandian, too, trained his guns at the Prime Minister and his party colleague if only to defend his boss.

It seems ironical that the elections began with an attempt at reviving the old alliance between BJP and BJD which collapsed in 2009 after serving both sides well for nearly 11 years. However, efforts in this direction failed despite prolonged parleys between the top leaders of the two parties and their in-house discussions. Leaders on both sides finally gave up as cadres, unwilling to accept a patch-up bid, showed signs of rebellion.  

However, the failed bid to revive the alliance did more damage to BJD than BJP. The Prime Minister also kept issues of Odia pride and state’s underdevelopment at the centre of his campaign in the state. To this he added the alleged anxiety over 77-year-old chief minister’s failing health and promised to constitute a committee to look into the issue if BJP came to power in the state. Pandian was accused of practically taking Patnaik hostage and deliberately suppressing facts about his  health.