Who will prevail over Oriya identity? Why so much bitterness between BJP and BJD amid elections?

New Delhi: The second phase of voting was completed in Odisha yesterday i.e. on Monday 20th May. On one hand, there was the 5th phase of voting in the country, while on the other hand, there was the second phase in Odisha. Two phases of elections are left. Along with the Lok Sabha, assembly elections are also being held in the state. Before the elections, there was talk of an alliance between BJP and BJD in the state and now within a few days the bitterness has increased considerably. First the statement given by PM Modi on June 10 and then the recent comment by Sambit Patra, the political rhetoric between BJP and BJD has become even more intense. The Odisha CM got an opportunity to attack after BJP candidate from Puri Lok Sabha seat, Sambit Patra, made remarks calling the state’s revered deity a devotee of Modi. As elections are progressing in the state, personal attacks are now being made from both sides. Besides, the issue of Oriya identity has also started from both the sides.

The next CM will be the son of the state’s soil
The example of friendship between Naveen Patnaik and PM Modi was given but now both the leaders are attacking each other. Modi said that BJP will have a Chief Minister in Odisha on June 10. Meanwhile, while targeting Naveen Patnaik, Modi said that Naveen Patnaik, who has been holding the post of CM of Odisha for so many years, cannot tell the names of all the districts of the state without seeing the paper. Recently, in an interview, PM Modi was asked a question about alliance and then contesting elections separately. PM Modi said that BJP had contested against BJD in the 2014 and 2019 elections. The party’s support base increased significantly in the state. He said that it is our commitment that whichever BJP leader becomes the next Chief Minister of Odisha, he will be a son of the soil of the state. The people of the state have given BJD more than two decades and now they deserve a better alternative. PM Modi also pointed towards Oriya identity.

Naveen Patnaik got a chance after Patra’s comment
On the other hand, after Sambit Patra’s comment, Naveen Patnaik linked the whole matter to Oriya identity. Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik appealed to the BJP not to drag Lord Jagannath into politics after he made remarks describing the state’s revered deity as a devotee of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Patnaik criticized Patra for hurting Oriya identity in a post on social media platform X. He said that Mahaprabhu Shri Jagannath is the lord of the universe. Calling Mahaprabhu a devotee of another human being is an insult to God…it is completely condemnable. This has hurt the sentiments and the faith of crores of Jagannath devotees and Oriya people across the world. Patnaik said that by doing this you have deeply hurt the Oriya identity and the people of Odisha will remember this for a long time. On the pretext of Patra’s statement, Naveen Patnaik also launched a scathing attack on BJP.

What is the reason for bitterness between the two parties?
Amidst the elections, many political experts are linking this bitterness only to the elections. Naveen Patnaik’s party supported BJP on all small and big occasions at the Centre. In the past, PM Modi has described the Odisha CM as his friend, while Naveen Patnaik has given eight out of ten marks to the Modi government. Some people also consider Pandian, a former bureaucrat and close to Naveen Patnaik, to be the reason behind this. After leaving the job, Pandian has now entered politics and is being counted as the number 2 leader in the party. Pandian is originally from Tamil Nadu and seeing his activism, BJP has linked it to Oriya identity. This was also considered to be one of the reasons behind the alliance not being formed in the state. On the other hand, some experts also believe that this bitterness is only for the elections. At the same time, some people are also looking at the Congress angle behind this. If both BJP and BJD had come together, the Congress party would have clearly appeared as the opposition and it would have got a chance to increase its support base in the state. In such a situation, it could have caused harm to both BJP and BJD, hence both the parties did not come together.