On September 24, BJP president Amit Shah was in Odisha, where he addressed the Mahila Samavesh (women's convention) of Mahila Shakti Kendra karyakartas (workers) and the BJP Mahila Morcha National Executive meeting in Puri. Shah drove from one venue to another, where meetings and small rallies were organised by the state unit of the party.
During his addresses, Shah trained his guns on Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and the BJD government in the state.
The immediate provocation for the attack was Patnaik's decision to not be part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's health insurance scheme, 'Aayushman Bharat'. But, the real reason for the rallies and addresses was to informally launch the BJP's campaign in a state which they see as easily conquerable.
Of late, PM Modi and Amit Shah have not been talking of 'Congress Mukt Bharat', though they may do so when campaigning commences for the assembly elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram and Telengana. Nonetheless, the duo have asserted their desire to see the party triumph in all the states, at various party forums and meetings.
To have this desire fulfilled, they have to win assembly elections in, among other states, West Bengal, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The party has been trying to make inroads in 'difficult' West Bengal and 'very difficult' Tamil Nadu. The saffron party appears to have shied away from seriously believing that they can make a foray into Kerala, but is confident about success in Odisha, if they put in their best efforts.
For the Lok Sabha polls due in May 2019, the BJP has set its eyes on 'Mission 21' in Odisha, where they aim at winning all the Parliamentary seats, and sweep the assembly elections which are expected to be held simultaneously.
Dharmendra Pradhan, a leader from Odisha and the minister of state with independent charge of petroleum and natural gas, believes that while the BJD government has been in office for four terms, the development of Odisha leaves much to be desired. The saffron party sees strong anti-incumbency sentiments and expects to capitalise on the same. The party is not a stranger to Odisha, having been a coalition partner with the BJD from 1998 to 2009. The BJP also has a fairly well-functioning party unit in the state.
Shah, however, felt the need to mobilise the party workers across the state if they are serious about winning. There may be some anti-incumbency, but Patnaik is a popular chief minister. A few days after his visit to the state in the eastern coast, Shah received a note from the Odisha BJP unit. In the letter, Basanta Kumar Panda, state unit president of the party, said they wanted Modi to contest from Puri. Panda told reporters in Cuttack that while he had made the request, the party's parliamentary board will take a final call.
His calculation: If they are to win Odisha, the best place to focus would be Puri, and the best candidate for the job would be Modi. His reading is that Modi's candidature would see the kind of rejuvenation and mobilisation of BJP workers that the UP unit witnessed in 2014—the BJP won 73 of the 80 Parliamentary seats that year, a huge victory by any standard.
The prime minister's candidature from Varanasi in 2014 sent strong signals to the whole country. Benares is every Hindu's home in life and life after. UP, the most populous state in the country with 80 Lok Sabha constituencies, was tough to tackle. Besides, for years, the Congress had their prime ministers from the state. Incidentally, the NDA's first PM, late Atal Bihari Vajpayee, also represented UP in Parliament. The candidature of Modi did pay rich dividends.
With UP safely in their kitty, Modi contesting from Puri would have a similar effect on the Odisha party unit. This, the state unit hopes, would give the much-needed impetus to win most of the Lok Sabha seats and sweep the assembly polls, dislodging Patnaik. The BJP's state executive meeting, attended by Pradhan and Union Textiles Minister Smriti Irani, is believed to have considered the possibility and analysed the possible impact Modi's candidature from Puri would have on the results.
A party source confirmed that the Odisha BJP unit has requested that the PM contest from Puri, but said there has been nothing more to it. Even if the decision has been taken informally, with the consent of Modi, it is not likely to be announced before the third or fourth list of BJP's candidates for Lok Sabha 2019 is released.
Modi may not be averse to the idea of seeking the blessings of Lord Shiva, the presiding deity of Kashi Vishwanath temple, as well as Lord Vishnu in Puri, and the message to the believers across the country would only get amplified. And the results for his party could be spectacular. After all, there is no better candidate than Modi in his party to dislodge a chief minister of four terms.
