Catalyst of BJP Tsunami in Odisha, Dharmendra Pradhan Leads the Race for CM’s Post

Bhubaneswar: It was a landslide victory for the BJP in Odisha both in the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections. With 78 seats in its bag, the saffron party is all set to form its maiden government in the state. The most interesting part is that the BJP managed to win a majority in the Assembly elections in Odisha without naming its probable CM.

As per the political analysts, the BJP will surely search for a name for the CM’s post, who would be able to match the image and stature of outgoing CM Naveen Patnaik in the national arena of politics.

Top Contender: 

The top contender for the post in the minds of the majority in Odisha is the Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who was the key catalyst behind BJP’s never before performance in Odisha. Pradhan’s role in BJP’s Odisha win was acknowledged by the Chanakya of the saffron party, the Home Minister Amit Shah during an election rally.

BJP’s manifesto for Odisha paved the path for its victory in the state. Amit Shah in his speech credited Pradhan for heading the team that formed the manifesto for the Odisha assembly elections. It was Pradhan who swayed the electorate in Odisha towards the BJP through promises of buying paddy at Rs 3,100 per quintal, cash voucher of Rs 50,000 to women under Subhadra Yojana and fight for Odia asmita. He was the key brain behind BJP’s poll strategy management in Odisha. Added to it, Pradhan’s no holds barred attack on IAS-turned-politician VK Pandian as an outsider and use of issue of “missing keys” to sacred Ratna Bhandar of the Puri Jagannath Temple also drew results.

Acknowledge all this, BJP veteran and Union defence minister Rajnath Singh in his election speech in Odisha had indicated a bigger role for Pradhan in future.

Political Acumen:

Pradhan has always remained at the core of national politics and bears the experience of holding key ministries in the Central cabinet. His grassroot level political acumen is always reckoned, as he started his political career during his student days in Utkal University. So, he has the capacity to deal with the mood of the voters and the political organization as well. This may make the BJP think-tank to choose this most prominent face of the party in Odisha without taking any risks in a state where the party is going to form its first government.

Pradhan also bears a long-standing legacy of loyalty to the BJP. He is the son of Debendra Pradhan, who was the minister of state for surface transport and agriculture in the Second Vajpayee ministry. Debendra Pradhan, who also was a member of the RSS is acknowledged for establishing the foundation of the BJP in Odisha. He was the president of Odisha BJP from 1988-1993 and then from 1997-1997. Debendra Pradhan was also the national vice president of the BJP. Hailing from a family that rooted the BJP in Odisha, Dharmendra Pradhan is extremely rooted to the party and knows the organization from the core.

Moreover, Pradhan hails from the OBC community, who constitute more than 50% of the population in Odisha.

Speculations Rife: 

According to BJP sources, the parliamentary board of the party will decide upon the CM’s name for Odisha in the next two days.

If BJP decides Pradhan as its Odisha CM then he will have to vacate the Sambalpur Lok Sabha seat, from where he won and and get elected to the Assembly from some seat.

It is also speculated that like what happened in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, the BJP bigwigs may spring up a surprise by announcing an unexpected name for the CM’s post.

Several other names are also making rounds. The other names include that of Comptroller and Auditor General of India Girish Chandra Murmu, who is from Betnoti in Mayurbhanj district. This retired 1985-batch IAS officer of Gujarat cadre has served as the principal secretary to Modi, while he was the CM of Gujarat. He was also the first Lieutenant Governor of Jammu & Kashmir. The names of other BJP heavyweight in the fray includes Suresh Pujari, who won his first Assembly election  from Brajarajnagar, Jayanarayan Mishra, KV Singhdeo as well as Odisha BJP president Manmohan Samal, who played a central role in the party’s victory in Odisha.