A concrete road, a health center for the eyes, an incomplete stadium, a training facility and streetlights with 5G internet have enhanced the urban feel of Pahadpur in Mayurbhanj district of Odisha. This is a village that was once unknown; it is where President Droupadi Murmu’s in-laws live.
However, Surath Nagar, a village 30km away, does not have an all-season road measuring about 300 meters to reach the National Highway from the village. According to locals, this path exemplifies how they are torn between pride at seeing Murmu as President and their struggle to take advantage of development.
The subject of Ms. Murmu has been one of the most topical issues during these elections within her home constituency of Mayurbhanj which goes to polls on June 1st. Even if BJP leaders had nothing else to say in their speeches without mentioning Murmu’s name, Naveen Patnaik ,the Chief Minister says she is his sister.
BJP has fielded Naba Charan Majhi from Mayurbhanj Lok Sabha- he has been a close associate of Ms. Murmu while Sudam Marndi (State Revenue and Disaster Management Minister) is Biju Janata Dal (BJD)’s candidate. They are facing Anjali Murmu who is the daughter of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha patriarch Shibu Soren.
The BJP-led government made all attempts to ensure that Ms. Murmu emerged as President by 2022. The party decided it would use tribal rights as a platform since this move would help them win closely contested elections in Odisha this year. However, there was no longer any euphoria but rather chants for practical needs.
“However after her nomination in 2022 following which Uparbeda was electrified by the government within few hours; development efforts across this tribal heartland have been sporadic. Pahadpur may look like a city where Murmu’s in-laws live but most of the tribals in this district are worse than any other forested area in terms of development,” said Paresh Chandra Soren, who is originally from Nischintpur, Kusumi block, Mayurbhanj.
In Surath Nagar, Sibnath Sirka aged 70 years said he had spent over 20 years pleading with government officials for a concrete road to link their village with the highway. In Pahadpur, Muniram Murmu who works as a labourer pointed out that accessing basic livelihood needs is difficult for him. “Our President comes from my own clan. Our village has certainly improved but our fields remain unirrigated,” he added. Local Sarpanch Rukmuni Murmu said he has struggled to allocate funds for a motorable road from the Pahadpur to the panchayat headquarters in Talakpokhari, 7km away. This list goes on.
Mayurbhanj sent six BJP MLAs to Odisha Legislative Assembly or over 25% of its strength in 2019. While people celebrate Ms Murmu as the President, voters evaluate performance of BJP MLAs. They stated they will vote for someone who can get their work done.
“President Murmu is definitely a major poll plank as this is the first election being held after her ascension to the top post. But individual candidates are being judged,” said Rabindra Patnaik, Rairangpur resident.
BJP’s Bisheswar Tudu currently holds Mayurbhanj seat and he serves as Union Minister of State for Tribal Affairs. Even though BJP holds one parliamentary seat and six assembly constituencies, BJD controls three tier panchayati raj system including zilla parishad and urban local bodies since 2022.
BJD had faced hurdles during 2017 and 2019 when it lost to BJP in the rural and general elections respectively. While this is true, the party has since made a course correction to strengthen its stand in tribal dominated district. Presently, BJD dominates 53 out of the 56 zilla parishad seats illustrating their mightiness in Mayurbhanj. Unfortunately, it is weighed down by anti-incumbency after being in power for twenty-five years. Come Tuesday and Wednesday this week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah will address public gatherings organized by BJP at Mayurbhanj.
Regardless of whichever political equation exists, tribals have become more self-assertive in Mayurbhanj. According to Bhagaban Hembram, one of the voters, “Whenever leaders talk about subsidized rice given to tribal communities; we are not destined for lives of eating free rice alone.” “We want priced at Rs.100 per kilogram rice that we can afford. This will signify real development or empowerment among the tribals as soon as that dream comes true.”
