West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee with Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik at Naveen Niwas in Bhubaneswar. file | Photo credit: Biswaranjan Raut
Amid talks of revival of a third opposition front ahead of the 2024 elections, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is meeting leaders of non-Congress opposition parties. But, not much should be expected from his scheduled meeting with Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
Ms Banerjee, who is currently on a three-day visit to Odisha, is likely to meet Mr Patnaik on March 23, a day before a meeting with former Karnataka chief minister and Janata Dal (S) leader HD Kumaraswamy in Kolkata.
The West Bengal Chief Minister explored possible sites for the proposed guest house for pilgrims coming to the coastal city from West Bengal and will visit the 12th-century Shri Jagannath Temple in Puri on March 22.
A senior Biju Janata Dal leader said, “The Trinamool Congress president is widely known as an ardent devotee of Lord Jagannath. Before the last assembly elections in West Bengal, he had invited service [priests] Offered special prayers at Shri Jagannath Temple for his party’s victory in the elections. This time, he is in Odisha purely for his spiritual stay.
“Mr. Patnaik, who is known to be a person of courtesy, would certainly host or meet his counterpart. In the past, he had shown equal courtesy to other leaders, irrespective of the party they belonged to. The two leaders Middle meeting should not be given much importance.
The declared ideological line of the BJD is that the party will maintain equal distance from both the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress. In this situation, it is only natural to consider Mr. Patnaik as a suitable component of the ‘Third Front’ being talked about.
But, Mr Patnaik never expressed national ambitions of going beyond Odisha limits and continued to consolidate the party’s strength as a regional player having ‘cordial’ relations with the party at the Centre.
The Chief Minister of Odisha may not seem to openly support the BJP, but he has never gone against the saffron party, which Chandrasekhar Rao of Telangana, Ms. Banerjee, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal or Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party Issuing outspoken statements like other Congress leaders. , In fact, the BJD had also supported the BJP in passing important bills in Parliament, especially in the Upper House where the saffron party at some point fell short of a majority.
“An alliance with any party other than the BJP, the Congress at the Center will not bring much dividend to Mr. Patnaik at the national level. He is holding talks with the NDA leadership on his own terms. Veteran journalist and political commentator Rabi Dash said the BJD has been in power for five consecutive terms in the state and does not need the help of parties.
Mr Das said that during his 25 years in active politics, he has hardly been photographed on the occasion of a show of opposition unity against the NDA or the UPA. Moreover, the opposition unity against the BJP-led government at the Center had not gained much momentum in the last one year. So the Chief Minister of Odisha is apparently not keen to join the alliance.
“If the BJP takes some drastic steps to destabilize his government, he will need the opposition parties to counter the ante. No such serious effort has been seen from the state unit of BJP. He does not see any threat from the Congress either. That’s why Mr. Patnaik is currently enjoying a government facing a serious challenge from the BJP or any opposition,” said Satya Prakash Nayak, former Congress leader and a political analyst.
Mr. Nayak said that being on the right side of the central system, they would get more central support and ensure less number of visits by investigative agencies.
When Mr. Banerjee reached Bhubaneswar on March 21, he said, “The Chief Minister of Odisha is a senior politician. Meeting with Mr. Patnaik will be a courtesy call.”