Dikhyaa Mohanty 
As a warning to the BJP, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has chosen Pranab Prakash Das, also known as Bobby, as the observer for the districts of Dhenkanal, Angul, Sambalpur, and Keonjhar in Odisha. Bobby is now the de facto deputy to chief minister Naveen Patnaik. In the lead-up to the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections next year, the BJD is working to reorganize its line-up of observers for various districts. The appointment was made public on Monday.
Insiders claim that the party is preparing for the likelihood that Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan may run from either the Sambalpur constituency or the Dhenkanal Lok Sabha seat, which includes the cities of Dhenkanal and Angul. Pradhan, an Angul native who was appointed a Union Minister in 2014, has indicated interest in running for office from Odisha but hasn’t said whether he’ll be running in the Assembly or the general elections.
If Dharmendra Pradhan decides to run for office, he can do so from either Dhenkanal or Sambalpur. Several of his recent actions suggest that he is covertly monitoring the state of the nation, the strength of the party in both constituencies, and other elements. According to a senior BJD politician who asked to remain anonymous, the party’s choice to enlist Das is a clear indication that Pradhan is being reined down.
All 30 of the state’s districts, according to BJD general secretary Arun Kumar Sahoo, are very important to the organization. “Because our party concentrates on every district and seat, we created Zila Parishad in all 30 districts in 2022 and won handily in the most recent panchayat election. Hence, each district is significant to us.
Das has served as an assembly member for the Jajpur Assembly three times. He has demonstrated his mettle in numerous elections and is regarded as a “excellent organizer” and “go-getter.” Patnaik honored the lawmaker in March 2020 by designating him organizational secretary, a post reserved only for the 51-year-old.
The BJD presently has the Dhenkanal parliamentary seat, while the BJP currently holds the majority and governs Sambalpur. The Sambalpur parliamentary seat as well as three of the Assembly districts of Sambalpur, Rengali, and Deogarh were won by the BJP in 2019. The BJD received the remaining four Assembly segments. After defeating the BJP candidates in Dhenkanal, the governing party took home the Lok Sabha seat and all seven Assembly segments. Nevertheless, sources inside the party claim that internal strife has subsequently undermined the party’s organization in the districts of Dhenkanal and Angul.
A BJD senior in the state’s ruling party predicted that Bobby Das would need to “stop the BJP’s expansion in Sambalpur, reclaim the seat from the BJP, and infuse strength into the BJD’s organization in Dhenkanal and Angul districts.”
If Pradhan, currently a Rajya Sabha MP from Madhya Pradesh, contests the polls from Odisha, defeating him will help the BJD underline its electoral dominance in the state and deal a crushing blow to the Opposition party. Pradhan, the son of former Union Minister Debendra Pradhan, is one of the BJP’s most prominent faces from Odisha. He started his political career with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and was elected to the state Assembly from the Pallahara assembly seat in Angul in 2000. At the time, the BJP and the BJD were in an alliance. Four years later, he was elected to the Lok Sabha from Deogarh (now part of the Sambalpur seat) as an alliance candidate. Five years later, as the BJD and the BJP parted ways, he unsuccessfully contested the Assembly polls from Pallahara. He was then elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2012 from Bihar and for a second term in 2018 from Madhya Pradesh.
For the past several months, the Union Minister has stepped up his political activities and outreach in Dhenkanal. Recently, he sought a special package from the Union government for the development of the tourism infrastructure in Dhenkanal, Sambalpur, and Deogarh. On Pradhan’s request, Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw recently renamed the Sambalpur-Shalimar Express as Mahima Gosain Express. The train runs via Angul and Talcher. The decision was taken to honour the Mahima Dharma religious movement.
