Dharmendra Pradhan BJP’s Odisha CM candidate?

Bhubaneswar: Bharatiya Janata Party’s Mahasamavesh public rally in Odisha seems to have solved many queries with regard to party’s stand vis-à-vis the ruling BJD and projection of party’s chief ministerial candidate in the 2019 elections.

The rally, which was addressed by BJP president Amit Shah, marked the party for first time putting the BJD on the top of its list of political opponents, and all the state leaders, directly or indirectly, accepting in their speeches the rising of Union petroleum and natural gas (PNG) minister Dharmendra Pradhan as numero uno in the state organisation.

Before BJP president Amit Shah heaped praises on Mr Pradhan, describing him as “a successful minister” in the Narendra Modi government, Union tribal affairs minister Jual Oram told the audience that the public rally became a huge success because of the efforts of the PNG minister.

“Our president Amitji had some pressing engagements today in Gujarat. Because of the insistence of my younger brother Dharmendra Pradhan, he came here to inspire us. The credit for success of this meeting goes to him,” Mr Oram, once seen a strong contender for party’s chief ministerial candidate in 2019 Assembly polls, said, indicating that he had dropped himself out of the chief ministerial candidate race.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his public address in Balasore and Rourkela early this year, had also send a clear message to the party workers and leaders in Odisha about his love and affection for Mr Pradhan by describing as his “most efficient” young colleague.

Political circles viewed Mr Oram’s remark as his submission to pressures from BJP central leaders to accept Mr Pradhan as numero uno leader of the party in Odisha. Many other leaders who were present on the dais also took the name of Mr Pradhan, portraying him as the man who has been trying to usher Odisha in a new era of progress and development.

Mr Shah explained to the public how Mr Pradhan’s efforts had helped Odisha to get projects worth thousands of crore rupees in petroleum and other sectors, indicating that the saffron party had made up its mind to pit him against the BJD president Naveen Patnaik in 2019 polls.

Senior leaders like K.V. Singhdeo, Bijoy Mohapatra and Pratpa Sarangi, who had earlier reservations about the central leaders promoting Mr Pradhan, have chosen to keep mum, apparently not to incur displeasure of the central leaders.