The Nirvik Bureau, Bhubaneswar, 3 August 2026
Hero’s Welcome For Man Who Misplaced An Exam
Odisha, that eternally polite state which apologises even when you step on its foot, has just given a roaring hero’s welcome to a man who resigned because students were roaring at him. Dharmendra Pradhan, freshly unburdened of answer keys and accountability, landed in Bhubaneswar to find ministers, MLAs and loyalists queued up like it was the opening night of a blockbuster titled “Accountability: The Sequel (Now In Odisha)”.
Having “relinquished” his post as Union Education Minister after the NEET-UG fiasco, he was greeted as if he’d just discovered penicillin, not presided over a bacterial outbreak in the exam system. The optics screamed: “Yes, he messed up your future, but look how nicely he waves from the airport!”
Cat Among Pigeons, Or Just BJP Leaders Practising Flying?
A local journalist helpfully described Pradhan’s return as “setting the cat among the pigeons”. In Odisha BJP’s case, the pigeons are its senior leaders, and the cat has turned up with 40 MLAs in his pocket and a Lok Sabha seat as a collar tag.
Mohan Charan Majhi, the current CM and officially designated “tribal face”, is suddenly discovering what it feels like to be a wind-cheater in a cyclone: technically useful, but easily replaceable. The party had once ignored Pradhan for the CM post and picked Majhi. Now, after a municipal setback in Keonjhar, Majhi’s own backyard, the same party looks at Pradhan and thinks, “Maybe the guy who couldn’t manage NEET can at least manage 21 wards.”
The high command, of course, claims this is all speculation. Which in BJP-speak often means: “We haven’t decided who will carry the blame yet.”
Image Makeover – From Leak Master to Future CM?
The grand welcome at the airport was not just affection; it was political Photoshop. Having watched his national image soften like wet odia rasagola in Delhi’s boiling NEET controversy, the Odisha unit is now trying to re-freeze him as “the rightful claimant” to the CM’s chair.
The logic is charmingly simple:
– He built the party from scratch in Odisha.
– He’s close to the Delhi top brass.
– He had to resign, which in modern politics counts as “having the courage to take moral responsibility, once the pitchforks are visible on TV”.
Of course, the youth, especially Gen Z, might not be impressed. They’ve just watched their exams wobble like coalition governments, and may not be thrilled at the idea of the same brand manager now being promoted to handle an entire state.
BJD Resurges, BJP Regroups, Odisha Becomes HR Department
As BJD tries to resurrect itself with Sujata Rout Karthikeyan and the evergreen shadow of VK Pandian, BJP seems to have decided that Odisha is essentially a human resources problem. Do you keep the timid tribal CM because he looks good in diversity brochures? Or do you upgrade to the seasoned organiser who arrives with baggage, a fan club, and trending hashtags?
Aparajita Sarangi, Baijayant Panda, Manmohan Samal and others are politely smiling in public while mentally checking their own cat–pigeon ratios. After all, every time Delhi “rewards” someone with a state, it usually comes with a complimentary package of enemies, rumours and a ticking clock.
Cooling-Off Period: Political Freezer, 5–6 Months Defrost Time
Experts say Pradhan might “lie low for some time”, which in Indian politics translates to: attend more dinners, give more cryptic smiles, and wait for someone else to slip on the political banana peel. He might get a party post, be used as an organisational strategist, or be slowly lowered onto the CM chair like the idol in a temple ritual.
In the meantime, Odisha will continue to speculate, students will continue to remember NEET, BJD will continue to rebrand, and Delhi will continue to do what it does best—pretend this was all part of a grand plan.
Whether Dharmendra Pradhan becomes CM or remains the man-who-could-have-been, one thing is certain: in Odisha, the cat is back, the pigeons are restless, and the exam of political promotion is still, very firmly, under evaluation.
