By Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, January 3, 2025: The ruling BJP and the opposition BJD seem to have chosen the farmers distress due to severe crop damage suffered during unseasonal rain for a political showdown. The farmers in southern and coastal regions suffered severe crop damage suffered during unseasonal rain,

Unseasonal rain between December 20 and 28 damaged harvest-ready crops in 11 of Odisha’s 30 districts, starting from Ganjam and Gajapati in the south to Balasore in the northern coastal parts. The incessant downpour flattened standing crops and left many paddy fields inundated.

The crop losses forced Chief Minister Mohan Majhi and Leader of the Opposition Naveen Patnaik to make his first district visits since his party’s loss in the simultaneous polls in June while CM Mohan Majhi and his Cabinet also reached out to farmers as per a “hurriedly prepared” schedule.

Official sources said the unseasonal rain damaged standing crops across 2.91 lakh hectares of land, affecting nearly 7 lakh farmers. The state government also declared a “state calamity” to release compensation from the state disaster response fund.

Even though the state government has directed district collectors to assess the damage and assured compensation, the situation has left several farmers distressed. Majhi chaired a review meeting to take stock of the situation on December 28. But the official press release on the meeting was silent on any scheduled district visits by the CM or his Cabinet colleagues.

But moments after the BJD on December 28 announced Patnaik’s visit to Ganjam, the most populous district and Patnaik’s home turf, on December 30, a government notification was circulated announcing a district visit by Majhi, Deputy CMs Pravati Parida and Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo, and Cabinet Ministers Krushna Chandra Patra and Pradeep Bal Samanta the following day.

Considered a BJD stronghold until earlier this year, the BJD suffered resounding defeats in Ganjam district’s Lok Sabha and Assembly seats during the simultaneous elections. But Patnaik’s visits, the first in recent years, evoked a substantial response from the public. Majhi, on the other hand, was accompanied by local MLAs of the ruling BJP and district officials during his visits.

The BJD used Patnaik’s visit to not only criticise the BJP but also attempt to boost its support base. While hearing from the distressed farmers, Patnaik encouraged them to register their grievances with the state government while attacking the BJP for failing to provide adequate warnings about the rain and the poor response from officials. BJD insiders claimed crowds that gathered for Patnaik’s visit were an indication of his popularity, its recent poor electoral performances notwithstanding: the BJD lost 12 of the 13 Assembly segments in Ganjam in the 2024 polls, down from 12 in 2019.

Patnaik also wrote a letter to the CM requesting him to restore confidence among distressed farmers. He also sought adequate and timely compensation for them. “The farmers and their families are in severe distress. The rains have caused extensive damage to both paddy and non-paddy crops during the harvesting period. This kind of situation has not happened in the recent past. They stated that they were not aware of the intensity of the rains as the government advisory was not issued on time. Besides, at many places the survey of crop damage has not yet been done,” Patnaik wrote.

Writing that the most disturbing and unfortunate part of the disaster was the “suicide of farmers”, Patnaik said that “the confidence of the farmer is shattered”. Citing Odisha’s proneness to natural disasters, Patnaik said the BJD would continue to demand special category status for the state, saying the tag would have benefited the farmers.

With the BJD facing the challenge of keeping its flock together while in the Opposition, party insiders said Patnaik might tour all the districts in regular intervals given the positive response so far. These visits might also stop BJD workers from switching to the BJP, they said.