Bhubaneshwar: Although Odisha’s ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has little stake in the outcome of Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, the talk of the town is that the poll results will surely have some bearing on the future course of the party.
Equally opposed to the Congress and BJP, the regional political party, which is now facing strong opposition from the BJP, might take a call on the suggestions made by former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda and JD (U) president Sharad Yadav for merger of all splinter groups of Janata Parivar.
What has added credence to the speculation on merger is the BJD chief spokesperson S.N. Patro’s remark that the unification of Janata Dal splinter groups would be “beneficial” for the countrymen.
“I personally favour the merger of all splinter groups of Janata Parivar. I believe our party president and chief minister Naveen Patnaik will take an appropriate decision at right time,” said Mr Patro.
After his meeting with Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday evening, the JD (U) chief Mr Yadav had said he would personally be very happy if all the Janata Dal Parivar members merge together.
“I will be personally happy if all the Janata Parivar members get reunited,” Mr Yadav told reporters here, adding, his party was keeping close eye on the outcome of the UP polls for deciding future course of activities.
What has added to the speculation of BJD-JD (U) alignment or for that matter merger is the near total eclipse of the Congress in the recently held Odisha panchayat polls. Congress’ decline helped the BJP emerge as a formidable force and challenge the BJD’s 20-year-old hegemony in Odisha politics.
The BJD, although got the highest number, 473 ZP seats in the rural polls, it lost at least 184 seats in comparison to its 2012 tally. The BJP on the other hand, catapulted itself to number two position by increasing its tally from 38 ZP seats in 2012 to 297 in 2017, while the Congress slipped to 60 seats from 128 in 2012 rural polls.
The ongoing Budget session of the state Assembly has also given early hints that in the wake of the BJP emerging as the principal challenger, a realignment of forces is very much on cards.
The saffron party is the common enemy for both the Congress and the BJD. The Congress thus may not be averse to playing ball with BJD in a desperate bid to stay relevant in the state while the BJD may have no option but to discard its ‘equidistant from Congress and BJP’ line in the face of the new threat in the form of the BJP.
“A possible BJD-Congress alliance - on the face of it, - may look preposterous. But politics has always had strange bedfellows before. If it could happen in Bihar, West Bengal and UP, there is no reason why it can’t happen in Odisha. In hindsight, BJD parliamentary party leader Bhartruhari Mahatab’s comments about the prospects of such an alliance a few months ago appear not without some substance. Politics, after all, is the art of the possible,” said political commentator Sandip Sahu.
