The appointment of former Jharkhand chief minister Raghubar Das as the Odisha governor comes with multiple messages within and outside the Bharatiya Janata Party.
In 2014, after Narendra Modi’s massive victory in Lok Sabha polls, the BJP won states like Maharashtra, Haryana and Jharkhand where elections were held a few months later. The party under Amit Shah conducted a bold experiment as it picked up chief ministers from non-dominant castes— Devendra Fadnavis, a Brahmin, Manohar Lal Khattar, a Punjabi and Raghubar Das, a non-tribal.
This choice was against the conventional wisdom, but BJP’s move paid it huge dividends as it cemented the support of non-dominant castes in these states.
Nine years later, the BJP has undone a part of this strategy. By appointing Raghubar Das as the Odisha governor, the BJP rules him out of the race in the elections next year.
The move also means that the BJP is likely to bet its chances on tribal leader Babulal Marandi who had returned to the party fold in 2020. He is now the state party president. The party’s central leadership has given a clear sign to Marandi to spearhead the campaign before the 2024 Lok Sabha and assembly elections.
Sixty-eight-year-old Raghubar Das’ transfer to gubernatorial post is apparently also a signal to several satraps that party is in process of promoting other leaders in the state.
The current round of elections in five states may also hasten the process of bringing in new leadership in the states. This is evident as the party has already given tickets to several MPs in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.
The BJP has been doing course correction since its loss in Karnataka. The party had earlier changed its chief ministers in several states to give chance to more leaders as it happened in Gujarat, Karnataka and Assam. The party has made winnability its main criteria.
