BJP at its wits' end to take on BJD

The spat between the Centre and the non-BJP ruled states over alleged irregularities in allotment of houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) is fast turning into a flash point in the run-up to the 2024 general elections. While the issue has led to yet another bitter confrontation between the ruling TMC and the BJP in West Bengal, there are rumblings of discord in Odisha between the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) regime and the saffron party. Charges and counter charges over deliberate bungling in identification of beneficiaries by the Naveen Patnaik-led BJD and the Central government allotting far less houses than required under the scheme are flying thick and fast.

However, given the widely known bonhomie between the BJP and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik where both sides have scrupulously avoided a collision course, the controversy is unlikely to snowball into a West Bengal-like face off. For, BJP's anti-Naveen positioning has at best been skin deep even as the party has emerged as the major opposition in the state relegating the Congress to a distant third in terms of vote share and popularity. Having said that, one must realise that Odisha is an important part of the BJP's look east strategy and as the Modi-Shah combine strives to consolidate their hold over the Indian electorate, they would be loath to let the BJD continue to buck the national trend. With speculation rife over Naveen Patnaik going for an early election, it is, therefore, quite obvious that BJP has electoral considerations that it can ill afford to ignore.

The issue is simple. If BJP has to further improve its position in Odisha, it has to cater to the ever- growing expectations of the voters below the poverty line, particularly in the rural areas; a vote bank that has returned Naveen and his party five times in a row. Besides, housing continues to be a serious problem in Odisha, a state that still figures low in development indices. That's where politics begin. With Naveen Patnaik unleashing a slew of welfare measures for the poor and the down-trodden over the last 23 years where assistance is available from birth to death, there is hardly any sector left for the opposition parties to address and counter the Chief Minister's popularity. Housing, therefore, comes in handy, particularly under PMAY which is a central scheme.

It all started when prominent BJP leaders in the state, including Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, alleged large-scale bungling in identification of beneficiaries under PMAY in Odisha. They held that the beneficiaries have been chosen selectively by the state administration in violation of the central guidelines to the benefit of BJD. A large number of genuine people have been left out of the scheme while many ineligible beneficiaries who are supporters of the ruling BJD have been included. They even claim that the central scheme has been hijacked by the regional party for electoral gains. Not to be outsmarted, BJD has countered the charges saying that the Centre has deliberately short-circuited the scheme in Odisha and left many homeless who deserved houses by not granting additional houses to the tune of seven lakhs.

As the war of attrition rages between the two parties, skeletons keep tumbling out of the cupboard. The issue which should have been addressed at least four years ago has no reason to be a subject of tussle now unless electoral gains are what both sides have in mind. Similar allegations and counter allegations have also been raised in so far as distribution of rice at one rupee a kg with BJP accusing BJD of taking full credit for a scheme majorly sponsored by the Centre. BJP has, meanwhile, threatened to involve its workers to highlight the irregularities at the block level and turn it into a state-wide movement in the coming days.

Though Patnaik has consistently asserted that his party is equidistant from the BJP and the Congress, it is common knowledge that the BJD has come to the rescue of the NDA government on a number of occasions. So much so that the Union Railway Minister Ashwini Baishnaw got elected to the Rajya Sabha as a BJP candidate from Odisha with full support from the BJD, though the latter had enough numbers to send its own candidate to the upper house. It is also well known that the central leadership of the BJP has restrained its local leaders from going overly aggressive against the BJD supremo and his outfit. But, the same posture cannot be maintained with elections round the corner if BJP has to put up a fight as the major opposition party. However, the man who is currently basking in the glory of organizing back-to-back Hockey World Cup in Bhubaneswar, Naveen is way smarter than his political rivals. His style of politics is unconventional and full of surprises. The long stay in power has given him such a grip that dislodging him on charges of inefficiency and corruption appears to be a herculean task. While the opposition cannot think beyond the standard poverty card to garner support, Naveen has well surpassed that stage and is eyeing a larger canvas to strengthen his position no matter how vocal the BJP could be about the PMAY and other irregularities.

Therefore, BJP has to think of a better strategy to counter the comfortably entrenched regional satrap. Having cultivated a vast section of voters through various welfare measures, Naveen this time has targeted women to expand his base. While women's empowerment was never a neglected area in his regime, this time he has made it abundantly clear that the focus in the coming elections will be on Maa O Bhauni (mothers and sisters) as he sought their blessings during his address at the BJD's 25th foundation day celebrations last month.