"SANKHA, sankha!" says a vegetable seller in Sambalpur emphatically, when asked who he would vote for this time in the elections. Sankha-the conch shell-is the electoral symbol of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), which is vying for an unprecedented sixth consecutive term in office. When asked about the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) flag also attached to his cart, he responds: "They are the same. They are together." Across towns and villages of western Odisha, people have been trying to make sense of the BJD and the BJP's electoral campaigns, locked in an apparently no-holds-barred fight for regional power. This has happened less than two months after they seemed to be on the verge of a pre-election agreement that would have virtually sealed the fate of the state for the next five years even before a single vote was cast.
Now, it has rapidly become one of the most high-pitched battles of the remaining phases of the electoral contest, not the least because the assembly elections for the mineral-rich state are also being held simultaneously. Five-time chief minister Naveen Patnaik may be in for the most serious challenge to his leadership in decades.
As his car trails the narrow, zig-zag streets of old Sambalpur on the way to a roadshow and a campaign meeting, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan feigns ignorance about the alliance plans. "We (the BJP and the BJD) have been fighting with each other at the political level for the last three elections. Due to a lack of governance and a lack of vision, people are unhappy with the incumbent government and its leadership. People want a change," he claims.
Pradhan, the most high-profile face of the BJP in Odisha, has returned to the state after a gap of more than two decades, having served as a Rajya Sabha member from Bihar and Madhya Pradesh from 2012 to 2024, and holding important portfolios in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet.
Denne historien er fra June 01, 2024-utgaven av Outlook.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra June 01, 2024-utgaven av Outlook.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Caste Census: To Conquer Or Conserve?
The caste census is generating heated debate, but even its most ardent proponents are not able to articulate a plan about how to use the resulting data
THE FATEFUL COMEDY
Actor-director Rajat Kapoor talks about adapting Fyodor Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov into a Hindi play
Mad Hatter
When a leader takes off his topi and holds it in his hands while appealing for votes, it signals something extraordinary
Circle Within Circles
The caste question in Muslims.
Backward March
The Maratha reservation question may continue to mire the next government in the state
The 69% Exception
Quota within quota: lessons to be learned from Tamil Nadu
United Indifference
The perils of tweaking tribal identities
Two Nations, Two Destinies
The widely differing balance of power between the military and civilian leadership in India and Pakistan has significantly impacted democracy in the two countries
Crème de la Crème
The mainstream society thinks reservations are against right to equality. It’s high time they are seen in the context of right to justice.
Fading Folks
The recent SC ruling on sub-classification within the SC and ST categories temporarily lifted the hopes of tribal communities in Jharkhand
