Unrest in Biju Janata Dal, ‘Pandian Go Back’ Slogan Gains Momentum

After voting on the Waqf Bill in the Parliament, there seems to be a new twist in the Biju Janata Dal’s internal politics. In fact it is more than a twist: right inside Patnaik’s residence Navin Niwas, a voice has been raised against the once most powerful IAS officer turned BJD leader V K Pandian, the most favoured poster boy of Naveen Patnaik.

Once a fortress where none would even dare tread, sloganeering erupted in the patio of Navin Niwas. Some BJD workers and leaders led by one Rajya Sabha BJD MP, Munna Khan, raised the slogan ‘V K Pandian Go Back!’. This was unheard of in the BJD. Although the din continued for some time, Patnaik remained inside contrary to the expectation that he would come out and cool down the irate leaders by giving some clarification. In the din one could also hear a solo voice BJD ‘murdabad’. And by implication, the invincibility of Naveen Patnaik as BJD supremo itself now faces a huge question mark.

The crux of the matter is that during voting for the Waqf Bill some BJD members voted in favour of the Bill while others voted against it. This indicated the absence of any stance by the party on an issue that has agitated people and parties across the country.

There is no denying that, till the 2024 polls, BJD had been supporting the BJP led NDA, both in the Lok Sabha and in the Rajya Sabha on various major issues. This had explicitly demonstrated Patnaik’s bonhomie with Prime Minister Modi. This changed after BJD faced a humiliating defeat at the hands of BJP in the 2024 general and Assembly elections.

But on the Waqf Bill, as per sources in the BJD, the party president had advised to vote against the Bill albeit with a suggested rider by the use of the word ‘discretion’. But so far Patnaik has not clarified whether that was his version or not.

The word discretion connotes prudence or maturity. But in the case of BJD it was always diktats from the leader at the top which had prevailed. According to Munna Khan, the BJD supremo had on two occasions told the members to vote against the Waqf board and as per Khan exercise of ‘discretion’ was never mentioned by Patnaik. This rider is what has created the confusion and has drawn a line of division in the BJD.

Then, further confounding the confusion, the BJD’s Rajya Sabha floor leader Sasmit Patra tweeted that one can vote as per one’s discretion and Patra admittedly voted in favour of the amendment of the Waqf Bill along with another member Sulata Deo.

If Patnaik has not used the word discretion, then who had? Who dared to bypass the supremo’s diktat and even vote in favour of the Bill like Patra and Deo?

“In all those 24 years, it was only Naveen Patnaik but in last two years it became only V K Pandian who, may be much to the chagrin of many BJD leaders, was masquerading as Patnaik’s only political representative and enjoyed an unquestioned position which apparently has been irritating the cadres” said Rabi Das, political analyst, adding that “ In the 2024 polls Pandian’s audacity to become the sole campaigner disturbed not only the voters but common men as well”.

From those days only the embers of anger were smouldering within and now a time has come when many feel that Naveen must stop walking with the help of crutches of V K Pandian.

Unprecedented show of guts

Just a day back, at last Naveen came out and faced a barrage of question by the angry leaders. For a while, a visibly perturbed Naveen Patnaik seemed helpless holding the mike himself before he virtually fumbled, “I will review the matter very soon about what happened”.

Analysts would say that at least after the 2024 poll debacle Patnaik should have drawn a lesson and distanced himself from Pandian or should have asked the latter not to meddle even from behind the scenes. May be a motley group of leaders dared the chief the other day but there is common anguish among almost all BJD leaders as far as Pandian is concerned. Many eyebrows are raised at V K Pandian still being around in Naveen’s residence after having declared a kind of ‘Sanyas’ (relinquishment) from politics.

All said and done, for Naveen the bullet is already out of the barrel and the party requires that Patnaik must size down Pandian.

The writer is a freelancer based in Odisha. The views are personal.