Nirvik Bureau, Bhubaneswar, 15 November 2025
The Nuapada bypoll is done and dusted. While the BJP’s win was a foregone conclusion, the massive margin of the win came as a surprise. The three key political messages emanating from Nuapada needs to be understood to forecast future political trends in Odisha.
Firstly, the vulgar, immoral, and illegal use of tainted money continues to manipulate the free and fair will of the voters. Votes continue to be purchased and voters continue to put their priceless democratic tool on the auction table. Over the last few years, the three major political parties in Odisha have continued their efforts to lure voters with cash and the cost of a single vote is creeping up with every election. The party that can distribute the cash most efficiently (wider reach) and most effectively (higher amount per vote) has a headstart that ultimately results in a win. This completely vitiates the electoral environment and makes a mockery of the term – “people’s representative”. The winner is actually a product of the power of illegal money. Nuapada, sadly, is no different.
Secondly, the bypoll represents the political bankruptcy of the BJD. While the party did distribute cash like it has in the last few years, its choice of candidate, its ideological inconsistencies, its lacklustre campaigning, and its intra-party squabbles, all depicted its unimaginative thinking and, perhaps, institutionalised political sabotage. Let’s discuss all these aspects in detail.
BJD’s failure, wilful as many are saying, to keep their deceased MLA’s son with them was the first nail in the coffin. Jay Dholakia had the best chance of winning the bypoll, as he would have rode the sympathy wave arising out of his father’s death. That the BJP could so easily poach him speaks volumes about the BJD’s leadership.
Their choice of an outsider – Snehangini Churia – as their candidate alienated not only the voters of Nuapada, but also the rank and file of Nuapada BJD. If they had to bring in an outsider and a lady, they could have been more imaginative and bold. They have a senior former bureaucrat in their wings whose early retirement from government service was widely publicised by the party in the national print media. They could have taken the bold step and fielded her. The wrong choice of candidate was the 2nd nail in the coffin.
Irresponsible statements by their senior leaders, including an uncouth statement on the lineage and bloodline of Jay Dholakia by one of the most discredited members of the party, exposed the BJD’s frustration and the abysmal level of discourse that the party has been promoting. It is an irony of huge proportions that a party led by Naveen Patnaik, one of the most sophisticated and decent leaders of the country, has in its ranks leaders who indulge in such crude discourses. This angered the voters of Nuapada and proved to be the third nail in the coffin.
The sight of a tired and unwell Naveen Patnaik being pushed into campaigning for the party was both sad and surprising. Sad because most Odias love Naveen Patnaik and they didn’t want to see their leader in such a situation. Surprising because there was no need to push him into the campaigning. Many inside the BJD and people across the state knew the BJD had no chance of even coming close to winning, let alone winning, yet Naveen Patnaik was dragged into the campaign in a losing battle. This massive loss has only further eroded his political stature, which had already been severely dented after the disaster of 2024. The desperation of the party to salvage some lost ground became apparent with Naveen Patnaik being forced to visit Nuapada twice. This was the 4th and last nail in the coffin.
Thirdly, coming to the Congress, credit to the grand old party for finishing second ahead of the BJD. Short on funds and weak in organisation, the Congress fought a spirited battle and rode on the likeability and sincerity of its candidate – Ghasiram Majhi. He had fought two good elections earlier in 2019 and 2024, as a Congress and as an independent candidate, respectively. His connect with the people of Nuapada, especially with the tribal communities, is strong and he has consistently stayed with and worked for them.
The Congress had a clear strategy of not letting go of the tribal support. The party announced Ghasiram Majhi as their candidate pretty early and then put all its resources in the Komana block that has a sizeable tribal population of more than fifty thousand. Credit should be given to the PCC President, Bhakta Charan Das, for leading the campaign and strategising well. The central leadership had put all its focus on the Bihar elections and had no time for the Nuapada bypoll. Yet, the Congress fought on spiritedly without getting disheartened.
The Congress finishing ahead of the BJD is a powerful political message for voters across the State and has paved the way for a bipolar battle between the Congress and the BJP in the future. The BJD seems to be spiraling down and most of its leaders would perhaps seek greener pastures in the BJP. Some have already deserted the ship after squeezing out personal benefits from it.
