On May 20, Sambalpur will go to the elections, and Pradhan is in the middle of a busy campaign. He discussed the BJP’s election platform and future prospects with HT.
Following a 15-year hiatus, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan is running for Sambalpur Lok Sabha seat as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate.
On May 20, Sambalpur will go to the elections, and Pradhan is in the middle of a busy campaign. He discussed the party’s chances and the BJP’s electoral agenda with HT.
What impact, in your opinion, would Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s choice to run from the Kantabanji seat in western Odisha have on the chances of both the BJP and yourself?
It’s a ruse that Naveen Patnaik is running from Kantabanji. He quit and kept Hinjili after winning Bijepur. Ignore Bijepur; was there any general progress in the Bargarh district? He had declared that he will personally oversee Bijepur’s growth during the 2019 elections. He also appointed a district minister. However, what took place? Significant advancements have not been made. It is not his focus to assist tribes, farmers, Dalits, or members of the Other Backward Classes.
Check out Kantabanji now. It is one of the main hubs for labor migration in Odisha’s west. Despite the fact that Patnaik’s government has been in place for 24 years, labor migration has not stopped. What is Bolangir’s drinking water availability situation? Hinjili, the CM’s home district, is a significant hub for labor migration as well. It appears that his purpose for visiting Kantabanji is to highlight labor migration. What is the status of available medical positions in the district’s government hospitals? How is the situation both in Odisha and in western Odisha? What is the current state of affairs with drinking water, healthcare, and education? Elections ought to be decided on the basis of issues, not personalities. The chief minister ought to clarify his actions on these matters before submitting his nomination for Kantabanji. His legitimacy would only be proved after he provides clarification on these matters. The Odia people have been duped and let down by him (Patnaik) during the past 24 years. At this point, his credibility is at its lowest.
Q. You recently discussed the choice made by your party to elevate Odia Asmita to a significant poll plank. Could you please elaborate?
When we discuss Odia Asmita, we are referring to the government’s prolonged tenure in office but its inability to advance the state’s general populace. When hundreds of young people from chief minister Naveen Patnaik’s Hinjili seat are compelled to travel to Gujarat in order to make a living, is there anything to be proud of? When we discuss Odia Asmita, we mean defending tribal interests and refusing to accept a cabinet decision that would have permitted the sale of tribal territory to non-tribal parties. Biju Janata Dal, or BJD, is a political party that lacks an Odia leader and instead elects a non-Odia bureaucrat to handle all critical decision-making. We would speak with anybody who could explain how non-Odia parts had taken state property.
Aside from Odia Asmita, what additional concerns do you have to defeat the BJD in the upcoming elections?
There are a number of problems, including a decline in peace and order, a drinking water crisis, agricultural failure, a lack of jobs, and a decline in the quality of education. Everyone has been let down by the (state) government, including farmers and students. The state as a whole is rife with anti-government sentiment.
Q. The absence of a chief ministerial face to challenge Naveen Patnaik has been one of the main complaints leveled at the BJP in Odisha. This time, will there be a CM face for you, or will it be you?
Unlike the BJD, our party is not local. The election is being fought under the direction of the widely acclaimed Prime Minister Narendra Modi, thus the absence of a chief ministerial face is not an issue. Who will serve as the CM is still up in the air. We will battle using a collaborative leadership strategy, and the party will select who will be the CM.
Is your party certain that it will establish an Odisha government?
We are going to win every one of the twenty-one Lok Sabha seats. We will also secure an absolute majority to establish the government of Odisha. That is beyond question.
