Naveen Patnaik-led BJD’s Grassroots Base Crumbles Post-2024 Assembly Polls
Party insiders said the crisis is likely to deepen, as hundreds of grassroots leaders—including sarpanches, Zilla Parishad members, block chairpersons and ZP presidents—from Jajpur district are set to quit the BJD on Wednesday and formally join the BJP in the presence of its state president, Manmohan Samal.
Bhubaneswar: The Biju Janata Dal’s (BJD) organisational strength at the grassroots appears to be weakening further in the aftermath of the 2024 Assembly elections, with the party suffering a series of high-profile exits and defections.
After setbacks in Dharmasala Jajpur and Dharmagarh in Kalahandi districts, the Naveen Patnaik-led regional party faced another jolt on Tuesday as two of its prominent leaders from southern Odisha—former Rajya Sabha MP N Bhaskar Rao and former minister Lal Bihari Himirika—resigned along with thousands of supporters. The duo on Tuesday announced the formation of a new political outfit, the Biju Swabhiman Manch.
Party insiders said the crisis is likely to deepen, as hundreds of grassroots leaders—including sarpanches, Zilla Parishad members, block chairpersons and ZP presidents—from Jajpur district are set to quit the BJD on Wednesday and formally join the BJP in the presence of its state president, Manmohan Samal.
Bhaskar Rao, once considered a key BJD face in south Odisha, cited growing disillusionment within the party ranks.
“Biju Janata Dal no longer adheres to its founding ideology. Senior leaders are being sidelined and denied recognition. We, therefore, decided to quit and float Biju Swabhiman Manch, which will remain non-aligned and work independently for the people of south Odisha,” he told reporters.
Himirika, a former minister in Naveen Patnaik’s cabinet, echoed the sentiment.
The crisis is not new. Earlier, the BJD’s organisational structures in Dharmagarh and Dharmasala had virtually collapsed after most panchayati raj representatives defected to the BJP.
The timing of these developments assumes significance, as the BJD struggles to contain internal dissent ahead of the upcoming panchayat polls. Several senior leaders—including ministers Prafulla Mallick, Ashok Chandra Panda, Ranendra Pratap Swain and Rajya Sabha MP Debasish Samantaray—have in recent months raised concerns over the party being “undemocratically managed” by a handful of individuals, with fingers often pointed at former bureaucrat-turned-politician V Karthikeyan Pandian, Naveen Patnaik’s close aide.