BJD sees BJP, Congress failure in Lok Sabha polls

The Biju Janata Dal (BJD), which has been maintaining distance from the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress as well at the national level, foresees failure of both the national parties in the next Lok Sabha polls while predicting that future of regional parties is “bright” and the upcoming Assembly elections will be a “litmus test for regionalisation of Indian politics”.

“Prime Minister Narendra) Modi’s charisma is declining. The Congress’ acceptability is very low, non-existent... The next government in Delhi in 2019, as I foresee, will not belong to either of the national parties,” said Biju Janata Dal leader and sitting Lok Sabha member Tathagata Satpathy.

In this backdrop, 2019 will see a historic election which will make this country politically “more alert and aware”, he said.

“The old adage of regional satraps fighting each other for prime ministership may not hold good forever... 2019 may throw up a new kind of leadership where mindset of people like Mulayam Singh Yadav would be a thing of the past,” he said.

“My BJD, led by Naveen Patnaik, is a frontal party,” he said. The four-time MP from Dhenkanal in Orissa said the future of regional parties is “bright”.

“The victory of the BJP in 2014 was more because of the defeat of the Congress. It was the Congress which the people wanted to throw out,” he said.

The son of former Orissa chief minister, the late Nandini Satpathy, who was in the Congress, 59-year-old Satpathy feels India can remain united only if regional parties remain vibrant. Asserting “regionalism is well and alive”, he said the Assembly elections in five states scheduled in the next two months is a “litmus test” for regionalisation of Indian politics.

“Except for Assam and to a certain extent Kerala, all three other states — West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry — are currently run by governments of regional parties. I foresee this election to be a litmus test for regionalisation of Indian politics,” he said.

India being such a diverse nation, it is only regional parties which can cater to the aspirations of their voters, he said.