In Puri, it’s local ‘hero’ Naveen vs ‘superman’ Modi

Puri: It’s hard to miss the wave of changes sweeping through the usually sleepy temple town of Puri. Amid the sound of conch shells punctuating the distant roaring of the sea, the smell of saffron is pretty strong. There are whispers that this time the lotus could bloom in the abode of Lord Jagannath, which will go to polls in the third phase of the elections on April 23.
In a desperate bid to wrest control from the state’s ruling party and expand its footprint in the eastern part of the country, the BJP has fielded one of its national spokespersons and a familiar face on television, Sambit Patra, in the Puri Lok Sabha seat. He is up against BJD’s sitting MP Pinaki Mishra and Congress’s Satya Prakash Nayak, a former journalist. With Sambit being in the poll fray, the national media is keenly watching the political developments here.

The Puri Lok Sabha constituency comprises Puri, Brahmagiri, Satyabadi, Pipili, Chilika, Ranpur and Nayagarh assembly seats. BJD has fielded sitting MLA Maheshwar Mohanty against BJP’s Jayanta Kumar Swain and Congress’s AP Mishra in the Puri assembly seat. Locals say it is advantage Maheshwar, a five-time MLA. But not everybody seems to share a similar sentiment when it comes to Pinaki. The sitting MP, a Supreme Court lawyer, seems to be fighting against the shadow of one Narendra Modi, India’s Prime Minister.

“This time my vote will not go to Pinaki. It will be BJD in the state and BJP at the Centre. No other government could do what Modi-led BJP did with Pakistan. This was long due,” says auto-rickshaw driver Manoj Kumar Ranjit.

Sand artist Sudarsan Patnaik, whose creations have put Odisha on the global map, says people here have a lot of faith in Naveen Patnaik. “They have a soft corner for the chief minister. However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has roused the spirit of nationalism through his firm action in the wake of the recent terror attack on our soldiers in Pulwama,” Sudarsan says. So, despite Naveen still being their hero, Modi has, for the ordinary people of this town and elsewhere in the country, become a superman following the Balakot air strike in the aftermath of the Pulwama attack in which 40 Indian soldiers were martyred, the sand artist feels.

Puri resident Ramlal Mohanty, 58, remains sceptical of the BJD government. “What has Naveen done in the 19 years of his rule. People from here still have to go outside for work. Modi, on the other hand, does what he says. Look at how he gave Pakistan a fitting reply. We need a change in governance to usher in development,” Ramlal says.

For him and others, BJP’s promise of making Puri the cultural capital of India has struck an instant chord. “The wind is blowing in favour of the BJP,” says a priest of the Puri temple. Jyotiranjan Khuntia, a servitor at the 12th century Jagannath Temple, says, “Though Puri has traditionally belonged to the BJD, this election may see a different outcome.” However, the 26-year-old is quick to add, “But only Lord Jagannath knows what the future holds.”

While BJD’s welfare measures such as land patta for slum dwellers, money for women self-help groups, the Kalia scheme for farmers could propel the party on the road to victory, the fight for the Lok Sabha seat may throw up a surprise.

A life guard, Narayan Rao, who claims to have saved 70 to 80 lives in his 30 years of service, says, “Let BJD have the state, BJP must return to power at the Centre as there are no worthy opponents. Only BJP can save the country from sinking.”

Australian Wayne Mercer, 73, who is in Puri for a few days, summed up the mood here. “The other evening, I saw a large group of people outside the Jagannath Temple. They were carrying saffron flags. The proposed candidate (Sambit Patra) came out of the temple with his large entourage of supporters. There was a lot of sloganeering. Overall, he would be probably classified as a success,” he says. Asked about Modi, he says after a pause, “He is trying to do too much too quickly.”