CM Majhi's ‘PR blitz' vs Naveen Patnaik's offensive — gloves off in BJP, BJD battle

Indian Express

a day ago

With the Mohan Charan Majhi-led BJP government in Odisha marking its first anniversary on Thursday, the battle of narratives between the BJP and the principal Opposition BJD has intensified. While the BJP is going all out to showcase its 'achievements' during its first year at the helm, the BJD has mounted an offensive to highlight the Majhi government's 'failures'.
On Tuesday, BJD president and ex-chief minister Naveen Patnaik launched a 'Janajagarana Abhiyan' (peoples' awakening campaign) as part of which the regional party plans to reach out to the people across the state to 'expose' the 'failures' of the BJP government. He also took a swipe at the BJP's publicity blitz.
After ruling Odisha for five consecutive terms since 2000, the Patnaik-led BJD was trounced by the BJP in the Assembly polls last June. Patnaik has now marked one year as the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Assembly.
On Tuesday, CM Majhi also addressed a press conference, asserting that his government has been 'successful in fulfilling a majority of the promises it made to the people'. He also announced that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Odisha on June 20 to mark the government's one-year celebrations – his sixth visit over the last one year.
According to BJP sources, Modi, during the visit, will unveil the party's vision document proposing to make Odisha a prosperous state by 2036 — when the state will commemorate its centenary year.
In his speech Tuesday, Patnaik took on the BJP, saying: 'It's been a year since the BJP has formed its government in Odisha. They refer to the government as 'lokonka sarkar' (peoples' government). But where are the people? Development doesn't come from long speeches and glossy advertisements'.
He also raised three issues – the BJP government's decision to bring the curtains down on his regime's Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY), the 'weakening' of the Mission Shakti initiative scheme meant for rural women, and the agrarian policy – to target the BJP, claiming that these measures went against the interests of the people.
On the BSKY, Patnaik claimed that despite the BJP's implementation of the Centre's Ayushman Bharat Yojana, his own government's scheme was 'more beneficial'. The Majhi government replaced the Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY) with the Gopabandhu Jana Arogya Yojana, even as Odisha joined the Ayushman Bharat Yojana in January this year. The Ayushman Bharat scheme is now being implemented along with the Gopabandhu Jana Arogya Yojana in the state.
'Over 90 per cent of people were covered under BSKY. Though the Ayushman Bharat scheme has been started here, people face difficulties getting treatment. People can't get treatment without money,' Patnaik said.
He also accused the current dispensation of 'weakening' Mission Shakti initiative. A flagship scheme launched in 2001 by the then Patnaik government, the scheme was launched as an integrated programme for women empowerment and was meant, among other things, to help promote socio-economic activities among them.
This scheme was once believed to have given the BJD a political advantage, raking in one of its largest voter base – women. However, the tables turned in the 2024 elections, when the BJP's promise of the Subhadra direct cash transfer scheme for women was believed to have dented this key base of the BJD.
The Subhadra scheme was launched on September 17 last year, with the BJD calling it an attempt to 'weaken' the Mission Shakti initiative.
Patnaik also accused the Majhi government of 'obstructing women's empowerment'. 'The rural women who used to travel to Dubai and Singapore are disheartened now. This is the biggest achievement of the BJP government…the women of Odisha will not forgive this,' he said.
Speaking about the agrarian problems in Odisha, the BJD chief also underlined the difficulties faced by farmers at the mandis, saying that they were now 'at the mercy of the middlemen and millers'.
Senior BJD leader Sarada Prasanna Jena alleged that the BJP government has failed on all fronts and that the BJD has planned to 'expose its lies'. As part of its campaign, the BJD has announced that it would hold two rallies at Jajpur on June 13 over women issues and at Puri on June 18 over issues concerning youth and students.
'The promises made to the people have turned into betrayal. They (government) have been using falsehood to mislead people. The government has been making tall claims, but the reality is starkly different. Despite a double-engine government, Odisha is being neglected in every sector. We will expose their lies,' Jena told reporters.