Bhubaneswar: Film stars and celebrities have always been crowd-pullers in India’s political landscape. In Odisha, too, multiple popular regional actors have made the leap into politics and, for many, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has been a favourite. But the state’s ruling party seems to have lost much of its star power this election season with several Odia actors-turned-politicians and BJD’s poster boys flocking to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the Lok Sabha and state assembly elections. Many of these defections stem from being denied party tickets.
Top cine stars — including outgoing Kendrapara MP Anubhav Mohanty, former Berhampur MP Sidhant Mohapatra, former Korei MLA Akash Das Nayak, and Arindam Roy — have joined the BJP in the past 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 told ThePrint.
A BJD MLA from Korei constituency from 2014 to 2019, Das Nayak was denied a ticket in 2019. He was, instead, put in charge of the Odisha government’s ‘Mo College’ initiative.
Meanwhile, Anubhav Mohanty, who was denied a party ticket this time, resigned from the BJD about a month ago. 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 against BJP’s Baijayant Panda from the prestigious Kendrapara Lok Sabha seat. Mohanty went on to defeat Panda by over 1.53 lakh votes.
In Digapahandi assembly seat, the BJP has fielded actor Sidhant Mohapatra, previously a two-time BJD MP from Berhampur.
Another popular actor, Arindam Roy, a close relative of BJD’s organisational secretary Pranab Prakash Das, is now with the BJP.
The BJD, however, retains some of its star power. On 18 April, popular Odia actress Varsha Priyadarshini joined the party. She was announced as the party’s candidate from Barchana assembly constituency. Priyadarshini is the former wife of film star and sitting MP Anubhav Mohanty, who has moved to BJP.
🙏🙏🙏 pic.twitter.com/NNH8lyvFvC
— VARSHA PRIYADARSHINI (@VarshaPriyadar3) April 21, 2024
Some prominent faces still in the BJD camp include Rajya Sabha MP Munna Khan, and Kuna Tripathy, chairman of Odisha Film Development Corporation (OFDC), among others.
Earlier this month, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, along with 5T Department Chairman V.K. Pandian, met with a group of actors and singers at his residence and spoke to them about the BJD’s key achievements during their two-decade-long rule. An artist, who attended the meeting, told ThePrint on condition of anonymity, “We were asked to campaign for the party based on what the state government has done for Odisha.”
Those who have left the BJD said that the party understands the power celebrities wield.
“BJD wants stars to pull crowds, but after the elections, they will forget them,” said Das Nayak.
Arindam Roy said, “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 expecting a BJP ticket from one of the Cuttack assembly 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 is not a recent phenomenon. Yesteryear superstar Prashanta Nanda, 76, whose term as Rajya Sabha MP ended this year, has been an active politician since 2000. He had successfully contested assembly elections with the support of BJP and the Nationalist Congress Party, before joining the BJD. He has also served as a minister in the Naveen Patnaik government.
Late actor Bijay Mohanty and actress Aparajita Mohanty had contested from the Bhubaneswar and Cuttack Lok Sabha seats, respectively, in the 2014 elections on Congress tickets, but couldn’t win.
Aparajita also unsuccessfully contested from the Bhubaneswar North Assembly seat in 2019 as a BJP candidate. Veteran actress Mahasweta Ray came to the BJP in 2018, but did not contest elections in 2019. In addition, actors Pinky Pradhan, Papu Pom Pom and Sritam Das have also tried their luck in politics.
Political experts, however, say that film stars don’t have enough power in Odisha to influence people’s opinion, and that Odisha’s track record for actors turned politicians has not been that great.
“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,” said Akshay Sahu, Odisha-based journalist and political expert.
“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,” said Sahu.
Some feel that the entry of film actors only 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,” said Rita Ray, a retired sociology professor from National Law University, Odisha.
The state goes to polls starting 13 May for Lok Sabha and state assembly, simultaneously.
(Edited by Mannat Chugh)
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