Top BJD leader asks Naveen Patnaik to own poll debacl
Bhubaneswar: Internal tensions have surfaced within the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) as senior leaders have begun holding party president and former Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik accountable for the party's crushing defeat to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state elections held earlier this year.
The BJD, which had dominated Odisha's political landscape for over two decades, finds itself in disarray following its unexpected fall from power.
Voices of dissent within the party have grown louder, with several senior leaders publicly criticising Patnaik’s leadership style, specifically pointing to his waning control over organizational matters, which they argue contributed to the electoral debacle.
Amar Prasad Satpathy, a prominent BJD leader, on Saturday directly blamed Patnaik for the party’s electoral setback, urging him to take responsibility for the failure.
Speaking to reporters in Bhubaneswar, Satpathy remarked, “We had placed our trust in Naveen Patnaik as our leader, expecting him to shoulder the full responsibility. He had consistently taken credit for the party's victories; now, he must also accept the responsibility for its defeat.”
Satpathy further emphasised that the party could recover only if Patnaik took a more active and hands-on role, conducting thorough reviews of the party’s functioning. "The party will function smoothly only if Naveen guides it properly through systematic reviews," he added.
When questioned about the role of VK Pandian, Patnaik’s trusted aide and a former Tamil Nadu-born bureaucrat who called the shots in the government as well as the BJD organisation, Satpathy was candid in his response. “We did not choose Pandian as our leader. Naveen Patnaik is the leader, and it is for him to speak on the party’s defeat," Satpathy said, making it clear that Pandian's influence within the party was a subject of concern for many.
Pandian was regarded as the power behind the throne during the BJD regime.
Satpathy’s comments were soon echoed by other senior BJD leaders, further exposing the deep fissures within the party. Former MLA Sambit Routray voiced his agreement, saying, “Amar Satpathy is a senior leader, and what he has said is correct. Now, the BJD president is holding district-wise review meetings at Sankha Bhawan, and senior party leaders are part of these reviews.”