BJP Year 1: Mega rallies to music festivals, party gets ready to celebrate anniversary of Odisha win

Indian Express

a day ago

Though not entirely unexpected, the BJP's Odisha win last June, dislodging the Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal (BJD) government after almost a quarter of a century, marked one of the biggest shifts in the country's political landscape in recent years. Now, the party is preparing to mark one year in office and unveil its roadmap for the next decade by launching a fortnight-long outreach comprising an extensive media blitzkrieg, four mega conventions, and cultural extravaganzas.
At the recent NITI Aayog Governing Council meeting, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi said an Odisha Vision document would be unveiled on June 12, when his administration completes a year. Top state government sources said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had been invited to grace the occasion. The roadmap to 2036 is important since it marks Odisha's centenary.
'The Odisha Vision document is a comprehensive, actionable and inclusive report with suggestions received from over 3,20,000 people of the state through an online portal and analysed using AI. The Vision Document will be launched on June 12, and I will be personally monitoring its implementation,' Majhi said, adding that the aspiration is to grow the state's economy to $500 billion by 2036 and $1.5 trillion by 2047.
The BJP has prepared a narrative to counter whatever the BJD comes up with. 'Our message will be loud and clear. It's about good governance and pro-people policies. We will reach out to the masses with a message on how the works, which couldn't be done in the past 24 years, have been achieved in the past one year,' said a senior BJP leader.
The party will highlight, among other things, the 'successful implementation' of Subhadra, a cash-transfer scheme covering around 1 crore women, and the sanctioning of Rs 8,00 per quintal over and above the minimum support price (MSP) for paddy. These were two of its poll promises that received a lot of traction on the ground ahead of the elections. The BJP has also underlined its commitment to social justice by announcing 11.25% reservation for the backward classes in education. The Majhi government is also expected to highlight the launch of the central Ayushman Bharat health scheme, which the BJD had avoided, and the opening of the Puri Jagannath temple's Ratna Bhandar (treasure trove).
'We have also made governance accessible to all by breaking the barrier between the government and the people. The CM and his Cabinet have not just been holding the grievance redress cell meetings regularly, but also taking it to the far-off districts, considered to be neglected areas. During BJD rule, the CM last attended the grievance meeting in August 2008,' said the BJP leader.
With the BJP having promised to fill 1.5 lakh government vacancies in five years, the Majhi government has increased the upper age limit for entry into various government services (non-uniform services) from 32 to 42 years.
To take its message to people, the BJP has planned four big rallies in different parts of the state, starting with a public meeting in Bhubaneswar, where the government will unveil 365 projects to mark its first anniversary. Several Union Ministers, senior BJP functionaries, and CMs of BJP-ruled states are expected to attend these rallies in Berhampur (focused on women), Bargarh (for farmers), Dhenkanal (for the youth), and Baripada (for tribals).
The party is set to kickstart these celebrations starting June 5 with four intellectual meetings focused on journalists, civil society, industry leaders, and public representatives, according to sources. To amplify its message, the government has also decided to deploy campaign vehicles, called Vikas Raths, in all 314 blocks of the state for around a month. Several cultural activities such as theatre, musical festivals, and a student competition on the subject 'Mo Swapna Ra Odisha (Odisha in my dream)' have also been planned, according to BJP insiders.
The Opposition, however, is preparing to puncture holes in the ruling party's narrative, pointing out that most of the work it is taking credit for had been completed by the previous government. The Majhi government recently admitted in the Assembly that two dozen schemes of the previous government had been renamed.
Targeting the Majhi government, the BJD and the Congress have labelled it a 'remote-control government' for its alleged dependence on New Delhi and are preparing their own outreach initiatives. This is an attempt to turn the tables on the ruling party, which had cornered the BJD over the alleged influence of former IAS officer V K Pandian over then CM Naveen Patnaik in the months leading up to the elections. Majhi has faced difficulty in appointing the heads of various corporations and public sector units, apart from filling six vacancies in his council of ministers.
Senior BJD leader Arun Sahoo said the party would reach out to people to highlight the failures of the BJP government on multiple fronts, including a deteriorating law-and-order situation, crime against women, 'misleading' people on the backward classes quota in education, and corruption at the grassroots.