One of the most powerful and popular regional satraps of the country, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has always charted an independent path in politics. Even though he led a coalition government in the state with the Bharatiya Janata Party as his partner for nearly nine years, he never bowed to pressure of any kind from his ally during this period.
He has sought to maintain his independence even at the national level with his party, Biju Janata Dal, taking a stand on crucial issues purely on the basis of merit and keeping the interests of the state and the country in mind. No wonder he was guarded in his response when asked about the BJD’s plans for the upcoming Lok Sabha and Presidential elections. While refusing to associate himself with the efforts to evolve a Third Front or joining any such formation, the five-time Chief Minister maintained that his party cherished its independence.
Patnaik, who follows an avowed policy of maintaining equidistance from the BJP and Congress, has also made it clear that his party’s stand on the nominee for the upcoming presidential election would depend on who the candidate was. In the 2017 Presidential polls, the BJD had supported NDA candidate Ram Nath Kovind but backed Opposition-sponsored candidate Gopalkrishna Gandhi for the post of vice-president.
However, the support of Patnaik’s party in the July presidential polls is crucial for the NDA considering that it is currently falling short by about 1.2 per cent of the total votes it needs for its candidate to sail through. With 21 MPs across both houses of the Parliament, the BJD controls around 3.22 per cent of votes which can ensure a smooth win for the BJP in these elections. But with Patnaik having always preferred his independence in such matters, no one can be sure of what his final decision would be.
Patnaik’s moves will be keenly watched as the Opposition, too, is reportedly trying to put up a joint candidate for the presidential polls. Regional parties such as West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress, Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin’s DMK, Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena and Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s Telangana Rashtra Samiti are all expected to play an important role in deciding whether to put up a joint opposition candidate and who the person would be.
The leaders of most of these regional parties, including Banerjee, have been trying hard to get Patnaik on their side. They want him to be an ally in preparing for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls where only a united opposition can hope to pose any realistic challenge to the Modi-led NDA. But Patnaik, being aware of the internal contradictions of these parties, has so far refused to be part of any new political formation and rightly so.
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