Alliance with Biju Janata Dal 'likely to dampen' the enthusiasm of BJP workers

By Sudhansu R Das
The BJP-BJD effort to enter into an alliance in Odisha just before the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections may help BJP win a few seats more. But, the alliance will demolish the moral fabric of the BJP’s grassroots level workers to the point of no return. The committed members of the Sangh Parivar and the BJP sympathizers will keep themselves away from this unprincipled alliance.
Over the years, the BJP protested against the mining scam, infrastructure scams, unemployment problem, land scam, loan scam, chit fund scam, deforestation and urban land scam etc. in the state. Suddenly the BJP workers find themselves on the back foot as their leaders want an alliance with BJD with the expectation of winning more seats. This is going to be an illusion for BJP and the alliance is going to help BJD only at the cost of BJP’s credibility erosion. The BJP has given a clear impression that the party can sacrifice its principles for power.
BJP in Odisha has miserably failed to become Atma Nirbhar despite having so many Odia ministers and leaders in the centre. The central leadership of BJP has chosen wrong people in the state who could not organize, inspire and co-ordinate to build BJP as a credible alternative to Naveen Pattanaik’s BJD.
The party has displayed utter helplessness and lack of leadership skill to control the rise of a Tamilian leader, Pandian in the state; Pandian has extensively used government revenue, government machinery and his official time to project himself as a political leader. He succeeded in achieving his objectives before the visionless leaders in the state.
Now BJP and BJD are coming closer at the time of election. It will send a wrong signal to the electorate which may not dent the BJD prospect but it will dampen the enthusiasm of the BJP workers. Nowadays party workers are available on hiring basis; the same members will be seen in the meeting of a political party in the morning and the same members are visible in another party meeting in the evening. The BJP can hire the workers but cannot regain the trust of its own dedicated cadres.
The main reason for BJP's helplessness is that it has not given the leadership to the genuine leaders in the state. It had relied on spent force and suffered. The lone BJP MP from the state Aparajita Sadangi had the fire and grassroots level knowledge on various issues of the state; she could have challenged BJD. She seems to be a force in the state and the rest of the leaders lack the force which is required to move the masses.
The muddy political situation which erodes voters’ trust on both BJD and BJP has created a conducive atmosphere for the Congress and the independent candidates. In the absence of a firebrand state leader in Congress the advantage will go to the independent candidates who can win the election without investing much.
If some good leader forms a new regional party in Odisha, he will gain the advantage of this situation. There is an absolute need for a new regional political outfit since the centrist parties failed to protect the interest of the state.

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