Bhubaneswar: Though not very turbulent, yet 2022 was a year which marked many ups and downs in the political fora of Odisha. From startling bypoll results to President’s election, the State witnessed significant political developments in last 12 months. This piece is an attempt to rerun five such major happenings in the political sphere in Odisha.
Election of Draupadi Murmu As President
The 25th of July, 2022 will be etched in the history as a day of pride for people of Odisha as Draupadi Murmu was elected to the highest office – The President of India. While Murmu was NDA’s candidate for the Presidential elections, BJD president and Odisha Chief Minister extended full support for her. Naveen’s support and appeal in favour of the tribal woman leader played a key role in Murmu’s election as the First Citizen.
3 Bypolls, BJD & BJP retain seats
Odisha saw 3 bye-elections this year in form of polls for the following Assembly segments – Brajarajnagar, Dhamnagar and Padampur. The three seats were retained by the respective incumbent parties. While BJP won the Dhamnagar seat with late MLA Bishnu Sethi’s son winning with a handsome margin, the other two seats were retained by BJD.
Naveen Revamps Cabinet
Barely a week after completing three years in his fifth term as the chief minister of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik has effected a major reshuffle of his cabinet with an eye on the 2024 assembly and general elections. In June this year, the Chief Minister asked the Cabinet to resign. The CM inducted many new faces and showed door to leaders whose image was not so clean. A few Ministers were retained while loyalists and veterans were allotted key portfolios by the five-time CM.
Padampur Bypoll: Record Victory for Barsha Singh Bariha
BJD’s candidate for Padampur bypoll, and daughter of deceased tribal leader Bijay Ranjan Singh Bariha, Barsha Singh Bariha created history with an unpreceedented victory. The combination of Odisha CM’s charisma and Barsha’s legacy did wonders for the BJD. The regional party won by a margin of more than 42,000 votes. The BJP veteran Pradip Purohit was no match to a relatively young and inexperienced Barsha.
Odisha Congress Continues To Sink
Congress’ condition in Odisha is pitiable. Nothing seems to work for the grand old party in the State. Leadership change, fresh faces, and scattered election campaigns, any strategy is not turning in favour of the party. The party’s situation can be assessed from the Padampur election results. In 2019, the party got 30,000 votes which sank to 3,000 in 2022 bypoll. The internal bickering in the party continues, with senior leaders going against the leadership in open. Only a magic, it seems, can revive the Congress in Odisha now.
