‘Daughter of the state’: Naveen Patnaik asks Odisha MLAs to back Droupadi Murmu

Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik’s tweet appeal to the state’s legislators came a day after he referred to his discussion with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Droupadi Murmu and extended the BJD’s support

Updated on: Jun 22, 2022, 23:21:53 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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Bhubaneswar: Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday tweeted an appeal to all the state legislators to extend unanimous support to elect Droupadi Murmu as India’s next President, calling her “daughter of the state”.

Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik’s tweet appeal came on Wednesday evening, hours before he put out photographs with Pope Francis in Vatican City (Twitter/Naveen_Odisha)

Patnaik, who was in the Vatican City on Wednesday, sought everyone’s support for Murmu, who is likely to be the first tribal President of the country. Senior Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader and Lok Sabha MP Bhartruhari Mahtab too called Murmu’s nomination as the ruling National Democratic Alliance’s presidential nominee a proud moment for the state and appealed to all MPs and MLAs from Odisha to unitedly vote for her and ensure her victory in the Presidential polls.

The BJD’s unequivocal support for Murmu will help ensure that the Narendra Modi government, which was just short of the required majority mark of 543,216 votes for the presidential election by less than 20,000 votes, comfortably clears the July 18 vote. Patnaik’s BJD has 31,686 votes in this election.

Patnaik’s tweet came a day after he said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed Murmu’s candidature with him, though he did not specify when the discussion took place. There was speculation in Odisha if PM Modi discussed it at his meeting with Patnaik on May 30.

“The chief minister’s tweet makes it clear that PM and CM had indeed discussed Murmu. It may have been a few hours before the announcement or even a few days earlier. It shows the mutual trust that the two leaders have between them,” said BJD spokesperson Lenin Mohanty.

Mohanty, however, underlined that the BJP will not be able to reap any electoral benefit in Odisha due to its presidential choice and that the BJD continued to be in a pole position with elections to the state assembly and Lok Sabha less than 2 years away.

“The panchayat polls which concluded in March this year showed that tribals in Mayurbhanj and other tribal-dominated districts voted overwhelmingly in favour of BJD candidates. The same thing happened in the civic polls a month later,” Mohanty said, stressing how Naveen Patnaik’s decision to appoint a tribal woman as minister of Mission Shakti department. “We genuinely care about tribal welfare,” he said.

Odisha’s BJP spokesperson Jatin Mohanty made a similar point about his party’s approach towards tribals. “Though we have not been able to convert the votes to seats in elections, we did well in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections winning several tribal-dominated Lok Sabha constituencies such as Mayurbhanj, Sundargarh, Bolangir and Kalahandi. Droupadi Murmu’s nomination is a message to not just BJP cadres, but to tribal people in general that the central government believes in sab ka saath, sab ka vishwas,” said Mohanty.

Odisha BJP chief Sameer Mohanty described Murmu’s candidature as another gift from PM Modi to the people of Odisha. “The decision has many implications and it is a matter of pride for the 4.5 crore Odias in the state. PM Modi has yet again proven that Purvodaya can only be achieved through Odisha. It is beyond our imagination how a woman belonging to a poor family who has overcome many adversities in her life has emerged as such a strong leader and personality,” he said.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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