Protests by political parties are a hallmark of a functional democracy, with their decibel levels often hinting at shifting alignments. On June 28, a day after the president’s address to Parliament highlighting the government’s achievements, the opposition protested inside the house, demanding discussion on the NEET (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test) paper leak case. Members of the INDIA bloc entered the well of the Rajya Sabha and even staged a walkout. What might have been dismissed as usual ruckus took an interesting turn when the Biju Janata Dal joined the protest. The party was upset that there was no reference to Odisha in the president’s address.
For the first time in the party’s 27-year history, its members entered the well of the Rajya Sabha. The BJD, led by former Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, is known for its disciplined and constructive role in Parliament. The act of defiance indicates the changing political realities in Odisha. At the beginning of the 18th Lok Sabha, the BJD made its political position clear, shedding its NDA-friendly stance of the past decade.
Similarly, the YSR Congress Party, half the BJD’s age and founded by former Andhra Pradesh chief minister Jagan Mohan Reddy, also faces changing dynamics. Both Odisha and Andhra Pradesh had simultaneous assembly and Lok Sabha elections, where the ruling parties were voted out, giving an impressive mandate to the BJP and the NDA. Both the BJD and YSRCP, seen as BJP-friendly in their states, supported the Centre on key issues and helped pass several legislations in Parliament.
The YSRCP, which has 11 members in the Rajya Sabha and four in the Lok Sabha, also held protests inside Parliament over the lack of special status for Andhra Pradesh in the budget, and against post-poll violence in the state, which killed 31 people. The INDIA bloc members joined the protest, bringing the Andhra party closer to their side.
Given their numbers in the Rajya Sabha, the BJD and the YSRCP will play a crucial role when important bills are taken up; the NDA is short of the majority by 12 seats in the upper house.
Though both parties have, in terms of perception, moved closer to the INDIA bloc, they have hinted at a “middle of the road” approach with a pronounced anti-government stance. “As advised by Naveen babu, we will continue to be an independent party,” said Sasmit Patra, BJD spokesperson and Rajya Sabha member. “We will not be part of any alliance. We are fighting the BJP and the Congress equally in the state. We are the main opposition. We feel that both parties, whenever they have been in governments in Delhi, have neglected the people of Odisha.”
The assembly election results―the BJP won 78 of 147 seats―jolted the BJD out of its comfort zone; it had held power in the state for more than 24 years. In fact, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, in his maiden budget, renamed several successful schemes of the Patnaik government to further his party’s connect with the people.
The BJP’s victory has made the BJD reorient its strategy to avoid being subsumed, like in West Bengal, where the left cadre moved to the Trinamool Congress after Mamata Banerjee’s victory. A similar exercise is underway in Telangana, where the Bharat Rashtra Samithi leaders are switching to the ruling Congress.
Keeping his options open: Jagan Mohan Reddy (right) with Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut during a recent protest in Delhi | PTI
Since the loss, Patnaik has taken a more active role in deciding the party’s strategy. A special post―chairperson of the BJD parliamentary party―was created for him so that the party’s stance in Parliament has Patnaik’s formal imprint. Within the state, too, Patnaik has been questioning the BJP government as leader of the opposition in the assembly. He has been holding meetings at the party office instead of his residence, which was the functional chief minister’s office before the elections.
Patnaik has signalled to his party members and cadre that they should work for a return. Their next big test is the 2027 panchayat polls. Last time, the BJD won 766 of the 852 zilla parishad seats. “He (Patnaik) said that the BJD parliamentary party should work to ensure that the voice of the people of Odisha is heard in Parliament,” said Patra. “Odisha has given 20 MPs to the BJP. As they are part of the ruling party at the Centre, they would not raise their voice. We are going to highlight the issues of the state; we will be an active opposition.”
The situation is more volatile in Andhra Pradesh, given the post-election clashes between the ruling Telugu Desam Party and YSRCP cadres. Jagan Mohan Reddy faces a challenge from Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, who was jailed during the YSRCP regime, and the Congress, under whose rule at the Centre Jagan was jailed.
“We are not part of the NDA or the INDIA bloc,” said P.V. Midhun Reddy, YSRCP’s floor leader in the Lok Sabha. “It is too early to say and depends on the issues and bills. We are not going to support or oppose the bills blindly. If any bill is against the minorities, we will oppose it, like we did in the case of triple talaq. If they bring the Uniform Civil Code bill, we will oppose it, and anything else that is against our party’s ideology.”
Given the state’s political dynamics, the YSRCP will weigh its every move before it is seen as moving towards one side. Andhra Pradesh faces a peculiar situation―the state Congress is led by Jagan’s sister, Y.S. Sharmila, who has been critical of her brother’s politics, which may hinder a meeting of the minds. “There is a tacit understanding between the Congress and the TDP,” said Reddy. “Y.S. Sharmila supports the TDP. She even put up candidates to help them. Even though we are in the opposition, she speaks against us.”
In the assembly elections, the BJP and the Congress polled 2.83 per cent and 1.72 per cent votes. Both parties need the support of regional outfits to win seats. While the BJP won eight assembly and three Lok Sabha seats, the Congress could not open its account.
The state’s politics is divided between the TDP and the YSRCP, and they will try their best to keep mainstream parties out of the state. This means the YSRCP will look to recover its lost space while negotiating its way between the NDA and the INDIA bloc. “Last time we had a swing, we got 20 [seats],” said Reddy. “This time they did, next time we will.”
The BJD and the YSRCP face a similar challenge. If they are not vocal in their demands and do not play the role of an aggressive opposition, the Congress, which was the third party in the equation in both states, might stand to gain. Both parties paid the price of being seen as NDA allies, and now both face an uphill task to make a comeback.
Incidentally, both parties were votaries of the ‘one nation, one poll’ plank of simultaneous assembly and Lok Sabha elections. They would have realised the pitfalls. If the NDA government moves forward on the issue, it remains to be seen whether these parties will revisit the subject.