Bhubaneswar: With Jay on its side, BJP eyes gains in coastal districts

BHUBANESWAR: With Baijayant ‘Jay’ Panda joining the BJP, the party is hoping to make inroads into coastal Odisha, more particularly in politically sensitive Kendrapada district. While speculation is rife about his role within the party, BJP insiders said Baijayant will contest for Lok Sabha most probably from Kendrapada, from where he was elected twice on a BJD ticket in 2009 and 2014.“With his own followers and BJP votes, he looks comfortable there,” said a senior BJP leader.
Baijayant is scheduled to visit Odisha on Wednesday, two days after joining the BJP. He would reach the BJP state office in a rally from the Biju Patnaik International Airport and address a massive public meeting in Kendrapada a day later.
The Kendrapada Lok Sabha seat is considered politically crucial from the point of view of Naveen Patnaik-led BJD because the seat used to be represented by its ideologue Biju Patnaik (1977, 1980 and 1984). The seat has been held by BJD since 1998, the first election the party contested since it’s formation in 1997. Baijayant’s entry to the BJP in a way compensates for the loss the party is presumed to have suffered after senior leader Bijoy Mohapatra, also from Kendrapada, left the party in November last year.
Given his profile and visibility in the media and wide acceptance across the political spectrum, the 55-year-old Baijayant’s entry also gives a psychological boost to the state BJP. “It also sends a signal how BJP is being liked by more and more people,” a BJP leader said.
Baijayant, a four-time BJD parliamentarian, also brings the power of media to the saffron party since his family runs a popular Odia news channel.
Regarding a possible personality clash between Baijayant with Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan, a BJP leader observed, “Baijayant joined in the presence of the state’s top leaders led by Dharmendra. There is no confusion at all.”
Political analysts feel Baijayant will only have a limited appeal to BJP in Kendrapada. “Whatever popularity he has is limited to Kendrapada. I don’t think BJP will get any political dividend from his joining beyond his citadel,” said Jayant Mohapatra, a retired professor of political science at Berhampur University. On his part, Union minister Jual Oram said “Baijayant’s joining will strengthen the party.”