BHUBANESWAR: With the buzz of a possible Cabinet expansion at the Centre by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, many names from Odisha are doing the rounds for a berth.
While close associates of IAS officer-turned Bhubaneswar MP Aparajita Sarangi and industrialist-turned-politician Baijayant Panda count them as strong probables, speculation is rife about the possible return of former tribal affairs minister Jual Oram to the Cabinet. Balangir royal and three-time MP Sangeeta Singh Deo is another possible contender, party insiders said.
Narottam Gaan, a professor of political science at Utkal University, said Modi’s anticipated expansion may be mainly to accommodate former Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Bihar’s Sushil Modi and Madhya Pradesh leader Jyotiraditya Scindia, who joined BJP last year, besides giving more representation to poll-bound Uttar Pradesh. However, after the West Bengal debacle, BJP may focus more on Odisha, seeing it as a potential winning ground in 2024 which may be reflected in the Cabinet rejig, he said.
Aparajita, a 1994-batch IAS officer, who took voluntary retirement in 2018 and entered politics, is seen as a performer. Already a BJP national spokesperson, she has become a popular face beyond her constituency. To attract and retain similar talents, the party may give her more responsibilities, an aide of her said.
Similarly, Baijayant, once BJD’s Delhi face, who joined the saffron party in the run up to the last Lok Sabha elections months after quitting the regional party, is a prized catch for the saffron team. As Assam in-charge, Baijayant has “toiled hard” in the party’s poll battle in the north eastern state, where the saffron party returned to power, one of his supporters said. Baijayant had lost the last LS poll from Kendrapada.
Former Union minister Jual Oram, who is currently chairman of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence, may also stage a comeback to lure tribal voters, a sizeable vote bank in Odisha and other eastern states. He is one of the most non-controversial faces and a mass leader. A section of BJP workers also feel Sangeeta Singhdeo may emerge as a natural choice. Being a woman who has won the Lok Sabha elections thrice, she may be considered. She comes from Balangir in western Odisha, the region where BJP has done well. The party may give representation to someone from western part of the state, a BJP leader said.
From Odisha, Modi currently has Dharmendra Pradhan in his cabinet and Pratap Sarangi as a minister of state. In case of a major reshuffle, there may be change in their portfolios. While Dharmendra has petroleum and natural gas and steel with him, Pratap is MoS for animal husbandry, dairying and fisheries besides MSME.
