Strong undercurrent for BJP in Odisha: Sambit Patra
BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra is trying his luck again from Odisha’s Puri Lok Sabha seat after losing the 2019 national election from there
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national spokesperson Sambit Patra is trying his luck again from Odisha’s Puri Lok Sabha seat. The doctor-turned-politician, who lost the 2019 election, says he never turned his back on the constituency and its people. In an interview with HT, Patra spoke about his connection with Puri’s people, BJP’s prospects, etc. Edited excerpts:
What changes are you promising in Puri? What are the election issues?
My promise to the people of Puri is [Prime Minister Narendra] Modi ki guarantee. People here and across the country believe in the guarantee of Modi and they have seen the delivery. In the last five years that I have been in Puri...generally, people who get defeated by a small margin, very rarely stay back, but I have been there for the people. I have continued to work and stay here...been with the people. Thanks to Modi’s government and his Cabinet, many projects have been brought to completion. When I contested last time, they wanted a particular flyover for which the construction has started. They wanted a bridge over the Chilika for which the process began. Railway station renovation has been done and many trains have been started from Puri. So, many projects were brought from the central government. ...I was with the people through the thick and thin ... when someone needs to be admitted to the hospital or when someone needs an operation or surgery. I have a relationship with people. And now they feel that this time they need to stand with me.
Many in rural areas complain they are yet to get money for the construction of houses under the PM Awas Yojna...
Here the main problem with the Awas Yojana is though the Centre wants everyone should have a concrete house, there is a differentiation among the people. If you are a voter of a particular party, then you get the house, although you might already be living in a concrete house. If you are living in a kutcha house and if you are a voter of the other political party, then you are denied that scheme.
What do you think are the BJP’s chances against the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in the assembly polls?
Remember the Chhattisgarh election. At that time, even BJP spokespersons on television channels were a bit shy in saying that we were forming the government. We used to say we would do very well and do better than what we had done last time. But generally, they were shying away from saying that we would form the government. But what happened? Narendra Modi was particularly saying that in Chhattisgarh, we will form the government. We formed the government, there was a strong undercurrent there and now in Odisha. If you talk to people, they will say they want a change. I am sure that now the people have started saying this. You can feel the pulse. And with Modiji’s arrival for the main campaigning, the scenario is going to change and there is no doubt that BJP will form government in the state as well as have bumper seats in Lok Sabha.
Many do not seem to be happy with how the Jagannath Corridor redevelopment is being done, especially the ones who feel that hawkers have lost their livelihood...
I would not like to criticise any kind of developmental work. But development also has to be keeping in view the people’s interests. We had mutts and mandirs around the Jagannath Temple, which were thousands of years old, and they also needed protection. Secondly, hundreds and thousands of people have lost their livelihoods, so they are not very satisfied. There is a great deal of discontent.
There is a perception that just as the BJP pursued the Ram Temple issue, the BJD is trying to do the same with the Jagannath Temple renovation...
Lord Jagannatha has existed for thousands of years. The temple was not built by any political party. Jagannatha is the centre of every Odia person’s sentiment and centre of the universe. We think that way. So, to say that there is a comparison between the Ayodhya Temple construction and the Jagannath Mandir renovation would be wrong. I remember the Member of Parliament of Puri said on record on the floor of Parliament that we are constructing only four toilets.
Your opponents say you do not have a pan-Odisha face who could be chief minister...
Who said that? We have so many faces. We have so many important leaders. Who says that we do not have a pan Odisha face... I am astonished. I mean the people who do not have Pan Odisha face are saying that we do not have a face. Modiji is for the state also.
The other charge against you is that you have politicised the Odia pride...
In 1936, we were the first state carved out on a linguistic basis. The party [BJP] believes in taking steps to respect the language, and preserve Odia literature and the rich tradition and culture. ..These need preservation, these need to be taken forward. And someone from Odisha, who understands all these things would be the apt person to take these things forward. I would not speak against any individual, but our issue is the idea of Utkal, the identity of Kalinga.
