Rewind 2023: Transformations In Odisha’s Political Scenario

Bhubaneswar: 2023 saw a rapid transformation in Odisha politics, starting with the assassination of cabinet minister Naba Kishore Das, and the controversial IAS officer V.K Pandian. This year witnessed Pandian’s voluntary retirement from joining the BJD. At the beginning of the year, all the analysts were under the impression that politics would heat up this year. The results of Dhamnagar, Pipili, Tirtol, Baleswar, Jharsuguda and Padmapur by-polls were palpable. In the course of political events of the year, both BJD and BJP came a little close while Congress spent twelve months solving the infighting.

In early January of the year, influential minister Naba Kishore Das was shot dead in Jharsuguda. The shooting of a cabinet minister in broad daylight was unexpected for Odisha politics. Such an incident has never happened in the history of Indian politics. A police ASI Gopal Das, in charge of the minister’s security, allegedly shot him in his chest. He is now in jail as an under-trial prisoner. However, the mystery behind the Health Minister’s murder is yet to come to the fore. This was the most talked about political event of 2023.

The political scenario of 2023 brought some new turn of events as Pandian resigned from the government job in October. He took voluntary retirement and became a cabinet minister as Chairman of 5T and Nabin Odisha programme. In the following month, he joined the Biju Janata Dal and emerged as the new protagonist in the transformation of Odisha politics.

From the beginning, there was a lot of political heat around Pandian with both the BJP and the Congress targeting him directly and in the assembly. The opposition BJP, especially the opposition leader Jayanarayan Mishra, took up this issue more than the Congress.

Similarly, as the personal secretary of the Chief Minister and 5T, V.K. Politics Pandian’s visit to various districts also fumed the opposition. BJP MP Aparajita Sarangi raised her voice on this issue while Khandapada MLA from BJD Soumaranjan Patnaik too joining in the same.

After the issue was in the limelight in politics for a year, Soumaranjan Patnaik finally had to quit the party. As an MLA and senior vice-president of the BJD, he was not only expelled from the party but also removed from the post of Editor of Sambad Newspaper.

The politics of 2023 was as exciting and unexpected for the BJD as it was disappointing for the opposition BJP and the Congress. After the murder of NaBa Das, a bye-election was held in Jharsuguda this year. Except for Dhamnagar, like all the previous elections in the fifth term, the BJD won with a huge margin in the Jharsuguda. Das’s daughter Deepali Das became the MLA by defeating BJP and Congress candidates.

Earlier, in March, the BJP had changed its strategy in the state. Unexpectedly, on March 24, the BJP replaced Sameer Mohanty and announced former minister Manmohan Samal as the president. Manmohan was the party president during the BJD-BJP alliance.

Jayanarayan Mishra served as the leader of the opposition and on the other hand, senior leader Manmohan Samal took over as the president of the BJP, encouraging the grassroots activists. Even though the BJP had taken to the streets on various issues, it was not seen how to take action against the BJD from a political standpoint.

Even though 2023 was a year of change,  for Congress not much has changed. Organizationally, the Congress could not do any program inside and outside the assembly. The Congress did not even want to fight under the leadership of Sharat Patnaik. At the beginning of the year, former Chief Secretary Bijay Patnaik joined the Congress in February.

Once Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s close officer, Bijay Patnaik, ex-IAS, joined the Congress with enthusiasm. After him, there were rumours that other ex-IAS and prominent people would join the Congress. But nothing happened. Only a handful of ex-officers joined the Congress.

Even though the party made Bijay Patnaik the chairman of the campaign committee, it did not get much benefit. At the end of the year, the Congress also changed its in-charge. Dr. A. Chellakumar was replaced by Dr. Ajay Kumar Roy as the Congress in-charge of Odisha. On the other hand, two senior leaders were suspended this year due to infighting in the party.

Cuttack MLA MD Moquim and former Congress president and former MLA Chiranjibi Biswal were suspended for anti-party activities in May.

Except for BJD, BJP and Congress, no other party could be seen in the political scenario of 2023. Even though there were political parties like CPI, CPM, Socialist Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, Trinamool Congress, NCP, and Kalinga Sena, they did not come to the public’s attention. Only, in CPI, there have been some organizational changes.

In the series of popular political events, former Chief Minister Dr Giridhara Gamanga, former Minister Jayaram Pangi, former MLA Nabin Nanda, Naba Nirman Krushan Sangathan leader Akshay Kumar and others joined and deserted Bharat Rashtra Samithi or BRS in Telangana in a few time.

Giridhar Gamang and his son Shishir Gamang went silent, Jairam Pangi joined the Congress, and NNKS leader Akshay Kumar and Akharadev Nanda launched a political party called ‘Mo Dal’.

Not only Soumaranjan Patnaik but also Remuna MLA Sudshanshu Shekhar Parida has been expelled from the BJD this year for anti-people activities.

Earlier, BJD had already expelled its Chilika MLA Prashant Jagdev and Gopalpur MLA Pradeep Panigarahi from the party. After the expulsion of Soumaryanjan and Sudhasanshu, the count has increased to four.

Here are some top political events of 2023:-

Bikram, Sudam and Sarada become ministers

This year, the cabinet of Naveen Pantaik’s fifth term government was also reshuffled. This change took place in July. Bikram Keshari Arukh resigned from the post of Assembly Speaker and became the cabinet minister while Sudam Marndi, who left the cabinet last year, was taken in as the cabinet minister. Similarly, Sarada Prasad Naik was also appointed as the cabinet minister.

Higher Education Minister Rohit Pujari was removed first, followed by Samir Ranjan Das as Minister of School and Mass Education and Srikant Sahu as Minister of Labour. In the cabinet reshuffle, Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Pramila Mallik left the post of Minister and became the first woman Speaker of the Odisha Legislative Assembly.

Odisha Legislative Assembly Get New Speaker and Deputy Speaker

In 2023, the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Odisha Legislative Assembly also changed. In 2022, Bikram Keshari Arukh replaced Dr. Surjya Narayan Patro as the Speaker of OLA. ]

In 2023, Pramila Mallik replaced Arukh and became the first woman Speaker of the Odisha Assembly.

Earlier, A Lakshmi Bai was the first woman Deputy Speaker of the Odisha Assembly. Similarly, the Deputy Speaker also changed this year. Instead of Rajanikanta Singh, Kandhamal’s G. Udayagiri MLA Saluga Pradhan became the Deputy Speaker.

Two former speakers of OLA no more

In the beginning of 2023, senior leader and minister of West Odisha, Naba Kishore Das, was killed and two former Speakers of the Assembly BJD leaders, Dr. SN Patro and Maheshwar Mohanty, passed away this year.

Patro died on 2nd September and Maheshwar Mohanty on 7th November. Both died under medical conditions due to illness. Both were very popular and invincible leaders in their constituencies.

Shraddha and Kamiya Controversies!

Odisha politics became more heated in 2023 due to two non-Odia women. One was ‘Shradha’, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s physiotherapist and ‘Kamiya Jani’, a food blogger.

During the assembly session in October, opposition leader Jayanarayan Mishra brought the issue of Shraddha into the limelight. Jayanarayan stirred up the assembly by questioning the identity of ‘Shraddha’, a non-Odia woman working as a physiotherapist at CM Naveen’s residence.

He said that Shraddha was given government quarters and she was taken to the Vatican City in Rome with the Chief Minister on government funds. The storm was such that finally the Chief Minister himself had to answer.

While the opposition has publicly accused Shraddha as a mysterious woman, the Chief Minister refuted all allegations saying, “Shradha is his physiotherapist and his sister Geeta Mehta has sent Shraddha and she has not been given any government quarters nor has her travel expenses been borne by the government.”

After the reply of the Chief Minister, the discussion came to an end. Then, in December, another non-Odia woman, Kamiya Jani, started a political storm in Odisha. Food blogger Kamiya Jani, who has already eaten beef, was brought into Srimandir in a heretical act, it was alleged.

5T Chairman V.K Pandia and Kamiya Jani’s photos of Mahaprasad consumption and the video and photos of her coming out of the temple were raised by the opposition.

There was a lot of uproar over why the woman, who consumed beef, was allowed to enter the temple. BJD responded by saying that the opposition’s allegations were baseless. Kamiya herself also clarified on social media that she never ate beef.

Dr. Ganeshi Lal Completes term as Odisha Governor, Raghubar Das New Guv

Professor Ganesh Lal Completed his term as Odisha’s Governor and former chief minister of Jharkhand Raghubar Das joined as the new Governor of Odisha.

Before leaving, Professor Ganeshi Lal was very emotional about Odisha.

He said that Odisha is his second home and he will never forget the hospitality, and the love of Odisha’s soil.

Raghubar Das joined as the new governor and said that he has a close relationship with Odisha. His home is in neighbouring Jharkhand.

He is familiar with Odisha’s water, wind, culture and movement.

BJD’s new address – Sankha Bhawan

BJD got its new address in 2023. BJD turned 27 years old, and the new party office ‘Sankh Bhawan’ was inaugurated at the beginning of the year.

On Akshaya Tritiya, party supremo & Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik inaugurated the Shankh Bhavan.

Biswabhushan Harichandan Becomes Governor of Chhattisgarh

Former Odisha minister Biswabhushan Harichandan was appointed as the Governor of Chhattisgarh on February 23 this year. He was the governor of Andhra Pradesh from 2019 to 2023.

Bijay in Congress, Pandian in BJD

Two former IAS officers entered the political arena this year. One is 1989-batch IAS officer Bijay Patnaik and the other is 2000-batch IAS V.K. Pandian

Bijay Patnaik was earlier Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. V.K. Pandian was the personal secretary of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. Both are now in politics.

On February 10 this year, Bijay Patnaik joined the Congress. He is now the campaign committee chairman of the OPCC.

Pandian also stepped into the political arena and joined the BJD but without taking any position.

Ajay Kumar instead of A Chellakumar

Odisha Congress changed its observer at the end of the year. MP Dr. A. Chellakumar was replaced by Dr. Ajay Kumar as Congress in charge of Odisha.

The change came after Odisha leaders held a meeting with Rahul Gandhi on the future of the party.

Ajay Kumar is a former IPS officer. He was elected to Lok Sabha from Jamshedpur seat in 2014. He was previously in charge of Sikkim, Nagaland and Tripura.

Dr. Ajay Kumar left Congress in 2019 and joined Aam Aadmi Party. He returned to Congress in 2020.

 

Manmohan Samal Joins BJP

BJP changed its strategy in 2023. Manmohan Samal replaced Samir Mohanty as president.

Samir Mohanty’s term as president ended on January 16, 2023. Then it was said that he will lead until 2024. Unexpectedly, the BJP leadership removed Samir Mohanty and appointed Manmohan Samal as the president on March 24, 2023.

It should be noted that Manmohan Samal was the state president of the BJP in 2004.

 

Two BJD MLAs expelled; One Congress MLA suspended

In 2023, two BJD MLAs Soumaranjan Patnaik and Sudshanshu Shekhar Parida were expelled and Congress MLA Mohammed Moquim was suspended.

Congress suspended Moquim for anti-party activities after BJS expelled its two MLAs from the party for anti-people activities.

It should be mentioned that Gopalpur MLA Pradeep Panigarahi and Chilika MLA Prashant Jagdev were expelled earlier in BJD.

 

BJD elections postponed

BJD did not hold its organizational elections this time. Although Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has been the president since the formation of BJD, there is a law to hold organisational elections once every three years.

BJD was supposed to hold its union elections this year, but it has been postponed for a year, citing a focus on by-polls.

Power Cut During President’s Speech

In the 2023 series of events in Odisha, President Droupadi Murmu’s meeting attracted the attention of the entire nation.

The power went out when the President was addressing the convocation ceremony of Maharaja Sriramchandra Bhanjdeo University in Baripada. The President addressed the audience in the dark for 9 minutes.

Amit Shah and Naveen Patnaik shake hands

In August this year, BJP leader & Union Minister Amit Shah suddenly visited Odisha for two days. His visit turned the tides of Odisha politics. In the meeting, Shah greeted BJD President Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik with a handshake.

Shah visited Odisha on August 5. Shah’s visit to Odisha came before the much-discussed and debated vote of no confidence in the Parliament on the issue of Manipur and the denial of full statehood to Delhi. He reached Odisha the next day and met Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik at the Secretariat (Lok Seva Bhawan).

Both Shah and Naveen were present at the inaugural meeting of the Kamakshanagar-Duburi National Highway Extension. In his speech, Shah praised Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. He said that Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is a role model for other politicians in the country. Naveen also praised Shah.

Shah held the Chief Minister’s hand to press the remote switch while inaugurating the 4-lane extension of the Kamakshanagar-Duburi National Highway on the stage. That scene gave a new twist to Odisha politics. The analysis of the possibility of a BJD-BJP alliance had begun.

Dharmendra Pradhan To Contest Lok Sabha Elections

2023 was a year of preparation for BJP Leader and Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. He expressed his desire to contest for the Lok Sabha in the 2024 general election and he was in the process of choosing his constituency. The year passed in the process of choosing whether to contest from Dhenkanal or Sambalpur.

Earlier, he was elected as an MLA and once as an MP to the Lok Sabha. Later, he was elected to the Rajya Sabha twice. He has also been a minister at the Center for 9 years. In Odisha, his supporters consider him the chief ministerial candidate of the BJP.