Cracks in BJD

The strong, disciplined, impenetrable facade that the formidable Biju Janata Dal (BJD) maintained when it ruled Odisha for 24 years seems to be cracking as it sits in the opposition benches.

While several senior leaders have quit, others have voiced displeasure over the way the party is functioning. Much of the disaffection stems from the party’s perceived support for the BJP at the Centre, which has alienated a section of its leadership.

Adding to the unease is the considerable resentment among the rank and file over the overriding influence wielded by the bureaucrat turned politician V.K. Pandian, reportedly with the blessings of party supremo Naveen Patnaik.

Alarm bells started ringing when senior leaders, including former Rajya Sabha MP Nekkanti Bhaskar Rao, former Minister Lal Bihari Himirika, four-time legislator and party veteran Prafulla Kumar Mallik, and the youth leader Hari Shankar Rout quit the party in September. This was soon after the vice presidential election, in which the BJD chose to abstain, rather than vote against the National Democratic Alliance candidate, C.P. Radhakrishnan.

The rumbling within the BJD over this apparent soft stand against the party that overthrew it in 2024 grew louder following the vice presidential election. Senior party members say the BJD is needlessly “surrendering” to the BJP.

Prafulla Mallik, who resigned from the party after he was suspended for “anti-party activities”, told Frontline: “We may be the main opposition party, but we are not properly fulfilling the function of the opposition. I told the party that it does not have the courage to speak out and tell the truth. This is confusing the people as well.” He said that many in the BJD are unhappy with the party, but they are choosing to stay as “there is no other option for them”.

Also Read | Crimes against women give Congress new political momentum in Odisha

The BJD’s bonhomie with the BJP at the national level from the time it was in power (2000-24), even as the saffron party emerged as its main opposition in the State, has been viewed as one of the reasons behind the party’s defeat in the Assembly election in spite of having greater organisational strength at the grassroots. The closeness of the two parties at the central level, while baffling for voters, was a source of constant discomfort for party workers.

Pandian, who was perceived to be Patnaik’s successor, had tried to explain it away by saying that it was a case of “two great leaders” — Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Naveen Patnaik — “wanting to come together for a greater cause”. Some things, he said, were “beyond politics”.

Voters, however, did not buy into the argument, and the BJP staged one of the biggest upsets in Indian politics by defeating the seemingly invincible BJD that had looked all set to return to power for a sixth consecutive term. The murmurs started after the BJD leadership was seen as continuing to back the saffron party in Delhi.

Trouble raised its head in April with the BJD’s ambivalent stand on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill in Parliament. Initially, the party claimed to be opposing the legislation. Yet, instead of issuing a whip to its MPs, the party leadership left the matter to the personal discretion of its seven Rajya Sabha members.

Not only did senior party leaders like Rajya Sabha MP Muzibulla “Munna” Khan speak out openly against this flip-flop, they also pointed an accusing finger at Pandian. Pandian had been accused of taking a soft stance towards the BJP earlier, too. Interestingly, the BJD had staged protests within the State against the Waqf Bill. “The last-minute change in stand sent out a clear message that the BJD actually tacitly supported the BJP on the matter,” said a political source.

BJD vice president Pratap Jena, while admitting that the party’s closeness with the BJP was one of the main reasons behind its 2024 defeat, claimed that the situation was now changed. “Now there is no scope for hobnobbing with the BJP. We are now prepared to fight against all the mismanagement of the BJP government in the State and at the Centre,” he told Frontline.

After the confusion over the Waqf Bill, there was for the first time open dissent over Pandian’s clout in the party. Senior leaders like Ranendra Pratap Swain, the MLA from Athagarh, took thinly veiled swipes at Pandian, something nobody would have dared to do when the party was in power.

Some senior leaders met in a hotel on April 9 and declared that they would not allow any “outsider” to “undermine and weaken” Patnaik’s position. For a party that in the past never harboured any breach of its impenetrable facade in public, such open bickering led to speculation of an imminent split.

A Congress protest seeking measures to arrest crimes against women, in Bhubaneswar in March 2025. | Photo Credit: PTI

More than the BJD’s proximity to the BJP, the rise of the Tamil Nadu–born Pandian in the party hierarchy has been the source of conflict and dissent. Pandian, known to be the ageing Patnaik’s closest confidant, has been practically running the party since he quit the Indian Administrative Service and joined the BJD officially in 2023. Pandian’s style of functioning, though efficient, does not sit well with many senior BJD leaders, who either quit the party or found themselves sidelined because of their hostility towards him. Influential leaders like Baijayant Panda, Damodar Rout, and Pradeep Panigrahy were expelled for voicing their disapproval.

Pandian’s projection as Patnaik’s political heir was considered an assault on “Odiya asmita” (Odiya pride). Perceived as he was as the cause of the BJD’s shock defeat, Pandian announced after the 2024 elections that he was retiring from politics.

Yet, he clearly continued to enjoy Patnaik’s confidence, and his influence within the party did not diminish in the slightest.

Also Read | Naveen Patnaik: The fall of a titan

Even when Patnaik intervened to address the internal discord following the April 9 meeting of disgruntled leaders, he once again extended his support to Pandian and spoke of his contribution to the development of the State and the party. In order to achieve greater discipline and solidarity within the party, Patnaik revamped the party structure and reintroduced the Political Affairs Committee (PAC). Pandian’s detractors claim all the important posts in the PAC went to those belonging to Pandian’s camp.

If Patnaik’s aim was to diffuse the discontent, it did not happen. When the 78-year-old leader had to be hospitalised in August, several top BJD leaders alleged that they were kept in the dark. Thinly disguised barbs directed at Pandian by senior leaders on social media became the subject of political discourse and speculation.

Shreemayee Mishra’s cryptic post referring to Dhritarashtra, the blind king of the Mahabharata, who was also blind to the faults of his son, was interpreted as a rather obvious dig at Patnaik and his weakness for Pandian. In another post, she talked of “false monks”, which was seen as a jibe at Pandian’s declaration that he would take “sanyas” [a break] from politics.

On September 23, Mishra, along with two other BJD leaders—Subhas Chandra Sai and Prabir Chandra Sai—were suspended for indulging in “anti-party” activities. But Mishra’s outbursts found support among some top BJD leaders, including the Rajya Sabha member Debashish Samantaray, who stated that her comments highlighted “harsh realities”.

Naveen Patnaik being discharged from hospital in Bhubaneswar on August 21, with V.K. Pandian by his side. Pandian’s continued closeness to the BJD leader despite the shock defeat of 2024 does not go down will with party colleagues. | Photo Credit: PTI

Meanwhile, the Congress, under the leadership of its newly appointed Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president Bhakta Charan Das, has been intensifying its attacks on the ruling BJP in an attempt to project itself as the main opposition in the State.

Dismissing the Congress’ efforts and pointing out that neither the BJP nor the Congress could match the BJD’s grassroots organisational strength, Pratap Jena said: “There have been so many issues that the BJD has brought to the fore in the last 16 months of the BJP government—foremost among them being atrocities on women and on Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe students; farmers’ problems, like not getting fertilizers on time and poor quality of seeds; the weakening of the panchayati raj system; and exodus of industries from the State.”

The Congress claims the BJD’s protests are merely symbolic. “They are just to show that they are still in opposition. It is not from any ideological stand. Whereas the Congress, with just 14 MLAs, has been consistently opposing the BJP both in the State and at the Centre,” Das told Frontline. Speaking of the BJD’s inability to distance itself enough from the BJP, he said: “On every issue, including the vice presidential election, the BJD has repeatedly taken a stand that makes it look like the BJP’s younger brother. People are watching. The Congress’ vigorous opposition is also visible to all.”

According to Das, there is already a shifting of allegiance from the BJD to the Congress at the grassroots: “Earlier, a large number of Congress workers shifted to the BJD. Not only are they now returning, many old BJD workers also wish to join the Congress and are in touch with us.”

Das, who was once a close aide of Patnaik, claimed that many disgruntled BJD leaders were in touch with him. “I was with the BJD right from the start. I still have many friends and followers there. For a long while they did not have any alternative; now with the rise of the Congress, they have a place to go to and continue their fight against the communal forces,” said Das.

Interestingly, for all their differences, both the Congress and the BJD are on the same page when it comes to opposing the State BJP. Both parties claim to be the main opposition and have taken up a more or less identical stance against the State government, be it on crimes against women or farmers’ distress.

Also Read | Naveen Patnaik: The regional powerhouse

The ruling party is apparently unfazed. Talking to Frontline, the State BJP’s chief spokesperson, Anil Biswal, said: “The senior leaders in the BJD are uncertain of their future. Naveen babu has not created a second-rung leadership that can take the party forward. So, there is a leadership vacuum. As far as the Congress is concerned, people have not forgotten its past misrule. The Congress has no connect with the people. The BJP, on the other hand, has a strong leadership, has strengthened its organisational base, and carried out what it promised in its manifesto.”

With the three main players in Odisha politics trying to assert their respective positions, the upcoming byelection to the Nuapada Assembly constituency will be a test for all of them.