BHUBANESWAR: The BJD finds itself at a critical juncture with yet another senior leader, former Rajya Sabha MP Debashish Samantaray quitting the party and joining the BJP on Tuesday.
The immediate fallout of Samantaray’s relinquishing the Rajya Sabha seat is that the BJD’s number in the Upper House has further reduced to five, diminishing the party’s presence at the national level. After the 2024 election debacle, three Rajya Sabha MPs including Mamata Mahanta, Sujeet Kumar and now Samantaray have left the party for BJP.
The string of exits from BJD exposes a deep internal turmoil within the party. The BJD seems to have not been able to restabilise itself even after two years of the 2024 debacle. The promised reflection of the reasons, organisational shake-up to revitalise the party and a course correction have not materialised.
Senior leaders continue to feel sidelined with the party apparatus being run by comparatively junior-level functionaries controlled by the same powers that be. Despite party president Naveen Patnaik’s attempts to lead from the front as has been reflected on various recent issues, there is no abatement of the resentment among leaders over party affairs. This was openly displayed during the recent biennial Rajya Sabha election when as many as six MLAs cross-voted defying the whip to vote for BJD’s second candidate.
A senior leader disclosed that there is severe dissatisfaction within the party ranks over the manner in which it is being run. “The situation has again come to the pre-2024 period when party president’s close aide VK Pandian was running the show. There is no change. Many leaders and workers feel that Pandian is still in charge albeit behind the scene.This has created a division in the party. Though the situation remains manageable, the restlessness among the party leaders is growing,” he cautioned.
He said, with panchayat election less than a year away, the party has an urgent job of stopping the exodus at the grassroots level. “However, the leadership continues to be in a denial mode. BJP is framing the exits as BJD is a sinking ship. The perception is gaining ground,” he said..
However, BJD spokesperson Lenin Mohanty told this paper that the BJD wants such elements to resign so that the party can be rebuilt from scratch. “The party is in the process of reformation and these developments will have no effect on it,” he said.
