Odisha CM Mohan Majhi Hits Back At Naveen Over ‘Traitor’ Remark, Accuses BJD Of Double Standards
“In Bijepur, Subal Sahu was a Congress leader. After his demise, his wife Rita Sahu was embraced by the BJD. Again, in Kakatpur, the BJP’s declared candidate Tusharkanti Behera was taken away from BJP and fielded by the BJD itself,” Majhi said, his tone biting.
Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Thursday launched a sharp counterattack on Biju Janata Dal (BJD) president and Leader of Opposition Naveen Patnaik, accusing him of “hypocrisy” and “political double standards” over his recent remarks against the BJP’s Nuapada Assembly bypoll candidate, Jay Dholakia.
Speaking at a campaign rally in Nuapada, Majhi lambasted Patnaik for calling Dholakia a “traitor,” reminding the veteran leader of his party’s own history of wooing opposition candidates and inducting them into the BJD fold for electoral advantage.
“In Bijepur, Subal Sahu was a Congress leader. After his demise, his wife Rita Sahu was embraced by the BJD. Again, in Kakatpur, the BJP’s declared candidate Tusharkanti Behera was taken away from BJP and fielded by the BJD itself,” Majhi said, his tone biting. “Who, then, is a traitor?” he asked, drawing loud applause from the crowd.
Majhi accused the BJD of trying to malign the BJP candidate’s image while conveniently forgetting its own acts of political poaching.
“Does it suit Naveen Patnaik, who has ruled the state for over two decades, to call Jay Dholakia dishonest? The BJD had once lured a BJP candidate with promises of a ministerial berth and then fielded him from Kakatpur,” he alleged.
The Chief Minister, who has sharpened his attack on Patnaik in recent weeks, also questioned whether the BJD chief was personally aware of the words being attributed to him.
“The term ‘traitor’ has never come from his mouth before. I wonder if he even understands what has been written for him to read,” Majhi said, hinting that Patnaik’s statements might have been drafted and dictated by close aides.
Referring to the choice of BJD’s candidate in Nuapada, Majhi urged voters to “judge who the real betrayer is,” asserting that the regional party had imported a candidate from another district, bypassing local leaders. “This only exposes the BJD’s desperation. They are now searching even in their uncle’s houses to find candidates,” he quipped.
Majhi’s remarks come amid an increasingly fierce campaign for the Nuapada bypoll, seen as a prestige battle for both the ruling BJP and the opposition BJD. While the BJD seeks to reclaim its influence in western Odisha after losing power in 2024, the BJP is determined to consolidate its electoral gains under the new Majhi-led government.
Political observers view Majhi’s comments as part of a larger strategy to dismantle the BJD’s long-cultivated image of discipline and integrity, while projecting the BJP as a party that respects loyalty and transparency. The verbal duel between the two leaders also signals a shifting tone in Odisha politics, with personal attacks replacing the genteel exchanges that once marked Patnaik’s campaigns.
As the bypoll battle intensifies, the exchanges between Majhi and Patnaik have added a new edge to Odisha’s political landscape — one that could define the contours of the state’s evolving power equation in the months ahead.
