ELECTIONS IN ODISHA may be more than a year away, but the Biju Janata Dal is an early riser. The party has been in power since March 2000 and is raring to win the assembly and Lok Sabha polls again in mid-2024.
The confidence was on display as 50,000 office bearers assembled in Puri on December 26 for a grand celebration of the party’s silver jubilee. The choice of the temple town as the venue added religious fervour to the event. After all, the BJP with its hindutva edge is its main rival in both elections. The BJD has drawn up a yearlong programme in all constituencies with an eye on elections.
The BJD’s main strength is the popularity of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. He was a reclusive writer based in Delhi when the Janata Dal made him its candidate for by-election to the Aska Lok Sabha seat on the death of his father, the legendary Biju Patnaik, in 1997. He won, but left the Janata Dal and founded the BJD the same year.
The founding of the BJD was perhaps a political necessity to decimate the Congress. Foreseeing the rise of A.B. Vajpayee and the BJP, certain Janata Dal leaders in Odisha wanted to be on their side. The BJP, on its part, guessed that Patnaik would inherit his father’s political influence. So, in a symbiotic relationship, the two parties formed an alliance and won the Lok Sabha elections in both 1998 and 1999.
Denne historien er fra January 08, 2023-utgaven av THE WEEK India.
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 January 08, 2023-utgaven av THE WEEK India.
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
What Will It Take To Clean Up Delhi Air?
IT IS ASKED, year after year, why Delhi’s air remains unbreathable despite several interventions to reduce pollution.
Trump and the crisis of liberalism
Although Donald Trump's election to a non-consecutive second term to the US presidency is not unprecedented—Grover Cleveland had done it in 1893—it is nevertheless a watershed moment.
Men eye the woman's purse
A couple of months ago, I chanced upon a young 20-something man at my gym walking out with a women’s sling bag.
When trees hold hands
A filmmaker explores the human-nature connect through the living root bridges
Ms Gee & Gen Z
The vibrant Anuja Chauhan and her daughter Nayantara on the generational gap in romance writing
Vikram Seth-a suitable man
Our golden boy of literature was the star attraction at the recent Shillong Literary Festival in mysterious Meghalaya.
Superman bites the dust
When my granddaughter Kim was about three, I often took her to play in a nearby park.
OLD MAN AND THE SEA
Meet G. Govinda Menon, the 102-year-old engineer who had a key role in surveying the Vizhinjam coast in the 1940s, assessing its potential for an international port
Managing volatility: smarter equity choices in uncertain markets
THE INDIAN STOCK MARKET has delivered a strong 11 per cent CAGR over the past decade, with positive returns for eight straight years.
Investing in actively managed low-volatility portfolios keeps risks at bay
AFTER A ROARING bull market over the past year, equity markets in the recent months have gone into a correction mode as FIIs go on a selling spree. Volatility has risen and investment returns are hurt.
