As the curtains fall on 2023, a retrospective glance at Odisha’s political canvas reveals a tapestry woven with pivotal moments, transformative decisions, and the resolute leadership that navigated the state through a year of challenges and triumphs.
VK Pandian Joins BJD
Putting speculations to rest, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s former private secretary and the architect behind the transformational 5T initiatives (good governance model) VK Pandian formally joined the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on November 27, a little more than a month after he took voluntary retirement from the Indian Administrative Services (IAS).
The move came amid speculation that the influential former bureaucrat could emerge as the second most powerful leader within the party, and perhaps even Patnaik’s successor as party chief in the future.
He was given a Cabinet rank with the appointment of chairman of 5T and Nabin Odisha. The Nabin Odisha programme aims at augmenting rural infrastructure.
On December 15, Pandian announced he will not contest the 2024 elections and does not have any desire for any position.
Dipali Das Wins Jharsuguda bypoll
The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on May 13 registered a landslide victory in by-election for the Jharsuguda Assembly segment, which was lying vacant following murder of then Health and Family Minister Naba Kishore Das.
Dipali Das, daughter of the slain leader and BJD candidate, defeated her close rival Tankadhar Tripathy of BJP by a huge margin of 48,721 votes. Das secured 1,07,198 votes while Tripathy managed to bag 58,477 votes. Congress candidate Tarun Pandey trailed at distant third with only 4,496 votes.
Naveen Patnaik Expels Two BJD MLAs From Party
BJD president Naveen Patnaik on September 21 expelled two MLAs- media baron and Khandapada MLA Soumya Ranjan Patnaik and Remuna MLA Sudhansu Sekhar Parida from the party .
While Patnaik was expelled on charges of ‘anti-people activities’, Parida has been accused of misappropriating government subsidy worth Rs 3 crore meant for farmers. The matter is being inquired into by the State vigilance following an order of the Lokayukta.
Cabinet Reshuffle
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for the second time in his 5th term this year reshuffled his ministry by changing the portfolios of three ministers.
Speaker B K Arukha was appointed as Finance Minister while Labour Minister Srikant Sahu and Mass Education Minister Samir Ranjan Dash were dropped from the ministry.
Two senior leaders, Sudam Marndi and Sarada Prasad Nayak, were inducted into the ministry.
Demise Of Two Former Speakers Of Odisha Assembly
Two BJD political heavy weights and former Speakers of the Odisha Legislative Assembly, Surjya Narayan Patro and Maheswar Mohanty passed away this year.
Veteran BJD leader and seven-time MLA Patro passed away at a private hospital in Bhubaneswar on September 2 this year at the age of 74. Known as Anna (elder brother) in Ganjam district, Patro who had never been defeated since 1990 on a BJD ticket, stepped down as the Speaker of Odisha Assembly in June, 2022 due to ill health.
He held different ministerial portfolios including fisheries, animal resources development, energy, science and technology, environment, tourism, information technology, revenue and disaster management, information and public relations, food and civil supplies and consumer welfare.
Since 2009, he had been the MLA of Digapahandi for three consecutive terms.
Also, another senior BJD leader and Puri strongman Maheswar Mohanty, a former Speaker of the Odisha assembly and Minister in Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s cabinet for several terms, passed away on November 7 at the age of 67 following a brain stroke.
A five-time MLA from Puri Assembly Constituency, Mohanty handled the politics of Puri town for around three decades.
Mohanty was elected as Speaker of the Odisha legislative assembly in May 2004, which he held till March 2008. After that, he was made a Minister for the first time in 2012 and continued to be in the Naveen Patnaik cabinet till May 2019 before he lost that year’s elections to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Retired Chief Secretary Bijay Patnaik Joins Cong
Retired Chief Secretary Bijay Patnaik who was once considered very powerful in the Naveen Patnaik government joined the Congress party on February 10. The 1976-batch IAS officer, who had served as Odisha’s Chief Secretary from 2010 to 2013 claimed that he joined the Congress to be part of the fight against bad governance, corruption and the atmosphere of violence in the State.
BJP Appoints Manmohan Samal As Odisha Unit President
Ahead of the 2024 general and assembly elections BJP National President JP Nadda on March 23 this year appointed senior party leader and former Minister Manmohan Samal as the new state president of the party’s Odisha unit.
Samal, a senior BJP leader from the coastal district of Bhadrak, is known for his organisational skills and experience. He was elected to the Odisha Assembly in 2004 and served as the Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister from 2004 to 2009, while holding the post of state unit president when the BJP and BJD were in alliance.
The senior leader was crucial in ensuring BJP’s win in the Dhamnagar by-election last year. Party workers consider him as a leader capable of guiding all party cadres. This is his third stint as state chief. Samal had previously served as party president twice in 1998 and 2000.
The change of guard by BJP in the state is considered as a crucial step in preparation for the 2024 Lok Sabha election.
Raghubar Das Sworn In As New Governor Of Odisha
Former Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das on October 31 took oath as the 26th Governor of Odisha.
Prior to his appointment, he was the national vice president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He was also the first non-tribal CM of Jharkhand, from 2014 to 2019.
He joined the BJP in 1980 soon after its launch. He gradually rose through the ranks before being nominated as a party candidate from Jamshedpur (East) in the 1995 assembly elections. Das went on to win the seat five times from 1995 to 2019. In 2004, Das was appointed as BJP state president of the newly carved state of Jharkhand.
He became a Minister of the new state for the first time in the Babulal Marandi government. Das also got a place in two subsequent governments led by Arjun Munda and was sworn in as Deputy Chief Minister in the Shibu Soren-led government in 2009.
