Bhubaneswar: Was Naveen Patnaik’s decision to stay away from the INDIA bloc-backed Odisha bandh a calculated political move or a retreat under pressure? The BJD chief’s stand has triggered debate after he sent two party MPs to join opposition protests in Delhi on Tuesday to demand Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s ouster, only for the party to distance itself from the Odisha bandh called by Congress and other opposition parties two days later.The confusion deepened when BJD chief whip Pramila Mallik initially announced the party’s support for the bandh before retracting the statement, leaving rivals questioning the party’s position and even some leaders struggling to explain the apparent shift.Political observers are divided over whether the episode reflects strategic positioning or organisational confusion.Stating that had it been a calculated political strategy, the stand would have been clear from the very beginning, R K Satapathy, retired professor of political science, said the move has raised a lot of questions.Another political analyst, Jayant Mohapatra, sees it differently. According to him, Naveen managed to send two distinct political messages. By participating in the Delhi protest, the BJD signalled its concerns over the SIR of electoral rolls and aligned with parties questioning the Election Commission’s conduct. By staying away from the bandh in Odisha, however, it avoided appearing subordinate to Congress on home turf.“BJD was born on an anti-Congress plank and still sees itself as the principal alternative to the BJP in Odisha, not Congress,” Mohapatra said.A senior BJD MLA admitted that the abrupt change in position confused party workers. While opposition to Congress-led mobilisation was understandable, the visible U-turn left many unsure about the party’s political messaging, the MLA said.Defending the party’s position, BJD spokesperson Lenin Mohanty said the regional outfit remains equidistant from both BJP and Congress. He added that BJD’s stand on SIR may coincide with that of other opposition parties because it concerns every Odia and every Indian.
