Lok Sabha elections: Turncoats trending in Odisha politics

BHUBANESWAR: “Aaya Rams, Gaya Rams” are not new to politics. But the recent spurt in defection of leaders on being denied tickets has added a new dimension to Odisha politics.

As many as three MPs and four MLAs have left BJD and joined BJP since the polls were declared on March 10. The BJP is organising “Misrana parba”, to welcome leaders and their supporters into its fold. Some have even got the tickets. A few from the Congress has also quit the party.

Political analysts feel it’s the decline in party ideology and hunger for power that prompted these leaders to jump. “Today the dominant factor in politics is active self-interest. No more is changing party a stigma that it was two decades ago. It is happening everywhere,” said Prof Umakant Mishra, former head and professor at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication.

Politicians too agree with him calling the trend “opportunistic politics”, which is a disturbing sign. “It points to the erosion of value system and ideologies. Leaders work hard to build their support base. But the only guiding factor for

turncoats

is to win through short cuts,” said chairman of OPCC media cell and Congress’ Puri

Lok Sabha

candidate Satya Prakash Nayak. Stating that “Negative comments on turncoats are galore in social media,” he said the mood will reflect on the voting pattern.

Allocation of tickets to turncoats has already given rise to large-scale dissidence in parties. But BJP state vice-president and spokesperson Samir Mohanty has a different take. “We are welcoming leaders from other parties after discussions with our cadre,” he said. But he did admit that the party was giving tickets to those whose “winnability” factor was high as BJP wants to be a pan-Odisha party after widening its support base in the 2017 panchayat elections.

Speaking about the current scenario, BJD spokesperson Sasmit Patra said, “Many persons may move due to various reasons but their number is very small. A party has many tickets aspirants but all don’t move on being denied tickets,” he said. One such example is former BJD MLA (2009-2014) from Khandapara Siddharth Sekhar Singh Mardaraj, who was denied a BJD ticket in 2014. Currently contesting on a BJP ticket from Khandapara assembly seat, Singh said, “I moved in January 2016 when I felt sidelined in the BJD. Then BJP did not have much of a grip on Odisha. BJP gained ground only after the 2017 panchayat elections,” he justified.

But as leaders move and create their niche in new parties, the final decision will rest with the electorate. “Ultimately acceptance by the electorate will only tell if the move was right or wrong,” said Patra.