Bhubaneswar: Movie stars and celebrities have at all times been crowd-pullers in India’s political panorama. In Odisha, too, a number of well-liked regional actors have made the leap into politics and, for a lot of, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has been a favorite. However the state’s ruling celebration appears to have misplaced a lot of its star energy this election season with a number of Odia actors-turned-politicians and BJD’s poster boys flocking to the Bharatiya Janata Celebration (BJP) forward of the Lok Sabha and state meeting elections. Many of those defections stem from being denied celebration tickets.
Prime cine stars — together with outgoing Kendrapara MP Anubhav Mohanty, former Berhampur MP Sidhant Mohapatra, former Korei MLA Akash Das Nayak, and Arindam Roy — have joined the BJP up to now few weeks.
“One of the reasons why I left BJD is that I did not get a chance to serve my birthplace. I was unable to meet the party president for years. Can you imagine being in the party and not being able to meet the president? I worked for the BJD for 10 years, but didn’t get what I deserved,” Akash Das Nayak instructed ThePrint.
A BJD MLA from Korei constituency from 2014 to 2019, Das Nayak was denied a ticket in 2019. He was, as an alternative, put accountable for the Odisha authorities’s ‘Mo College’ initiative.
In the meantime, Anubhav Mohanty, who was denied a celebration ticket this time, resigned from the BJD a couple of month in the past. In his resignation letter to BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik, Mohanty reportedly wrote, “Despite my unwavering loyalty and deep admiration for you, sir, who I have regarded as a fatherly figure, I’ve been grappling with undisclosed concerns that have made me feel suffocated over the past four years.”
Mohanty was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2014, and in 2019, BJD had fielded him towards BJP’s Baijayant Panda from the celebrated Kendrapara Lok Sabha seat. Mohanty went on to defeat Panda by over 1.53 lakh votes.
In Digapahandi meeting seat, the BJP has fielded actor Sidhant Mohapatra, beforehand a two-time BJD MP from Berhampur.
One other well-liked actor, Arindam Roy, an in depth relative of BJD’s organisational secretary Pranab Prakash Das, is now with the BJP.
The BJD, nevertheless, retains a few of its star energy. On 18 April, well-liked Odia actress Varsha Priyadarshini joined the celebration. She was introduced because the celebration’s candidate from Barchana meeting constituency. Priyadarshini is the previous spouse of movie star and sitting MP Anubhav Mohanty, who has moved to BJP.
🙏🙏🙏 pic.twitter.com/NNH8lyvFvC
— VARSHA PRIYADARSHINI (@VarshaPriyadar3) April 21, 2024
Some outstanding faces nonetheless within the BJD camp embrace Rajya Sabha MP Munna Khan, and Kuna Tripathy, chairman of Odisha Movie Improvement Company (OFDC), amongst others.
Earlier this month, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, together with 5T Division Chairman V.Okay. Pandian, met with a bunch of actors and singers at his residence and spoke to them concerning the BJD’s key achievements throughout their two-decade-long rule. An artist, who attended the assembly, instructed ThePrint on situation of anonymity, “We were asked to campaign for the party based on what the state government has done for Odisha.”
Those that have left the BJD mentioned that the celebration understands the facility celebrities wield.
“BJD wants stars to pull crowds, but after the elections, they will forget them,” mentioned Das Nayak.
Arindam Roy mentioned, “BJD used to say that they don’t need actors, but they have proven that they see that star faces do have some value. BJD is dependent on them.”
Roy is anticipating a BJP ticket from one of many Cuttack meeting constituencies. “Giving me a ticket or not will solely be the decision of the party high command. I joined the party because I was motivated by the leadership and its development agenda,” he added.
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‘Actors don’t sway public opinion’
Odia actors’ tryst with politics shouldn’t be a latest phenomenon. Yesteryear celebrity Prashanta Nanda, 76, whose time period as Rajya Sabha MP ended this 12 months, has been an energetic politician since 2000. He had efficiently contested meeting elections with the assist of BJP and the Nationalist Congress Celebration, earlier than becoming a member of the BJD. He has additionally served as a minister within the Naveen Patnaik authorities.
Late actor Bijay Mohanty and actress Aparajita Mohanty had contested from the Bhubaneswar and Cuttack Lok Sabha seats, respectively, within the 2014 elections on Congress tickets, however couldn’t win.
Aparajita additionally unsuccessfully contested from the Bhubaneswar North Meeting seat in 2019 as a BJP candidate. Veteran actress Mahasweta Ray got here to the BJP in 2018, however didn’t contest elections in 2019. As well as, actors Pinky Pradhan, Papu Pom Pom and Sritam Das have additionally tried their luck in politics.
Political specialists, nevertheless, say that movie stars don’t have sufficient energy in Odisha to affect individuals’s opinion, and that Odisha’s observe document for actors turned politicians has not been that nice.
“Many film stars have migrated to the BJP, but that won’t change much as they have very little capability to influence public opinion. Also, in the past 25 years, most of these movie stars have failed to prove their political worth,” mentioned Akshay Sahu, Odisha-based journalist and political skilled.
“Bijay Mohanty and Aparajita Mohanty couldn’t be successful. These parties welcoming these stars are trying to show that their party is growing. A few film stars, like Sidhant Mohapatra, Anubhav Mohanty, and Akash Das Nayak have been selected, but they have failed to make their mark as good politicians. None of them were part of a good debate in the Parliament or the assembly,” mentioned Sahu.
Some really feel that the entry of movie actors solely get the “middle class” excited.
“With these stars, BJP may get some benefit, but people are only excited to see them. The youth may get influenced by these stars. These actors also want personal benefits. If they don’t get those from one party, they try to move to a different one,” mentioned Rita Ray, a retired sociology professor from Nationwide Regulation College, Odisha.
The state goes to polls beginning 13 Could for Lok Sabha and state meeting, concurrently.
(Edited by Mannat Chugh)
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