'Rating' politics intensifies in Odisha as Opposition gives ‘0/10’ to CM Naveen

It seems that ‘rating’ politics has now taken centre stage in Odisha after Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik recently heaped praises on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and rated him 8 out of 10 for his outstanding foreign policy and work towards the eradication of corruption in the country.

The State unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress too have come up with their respective ratings for CM Naveen Patnaik in their trademark styles. The BJP, which is the principal opposition in Odisha, has given a ‘zero’ rating to the CM and the same evaluation has been done by the Congress as well.

“PM Modi should have got 10 out of 10. CM Naveen should answer why he gave him 8 points. I have awarded CM Naveen zero points for a non-performing government. PM Modi's governance has been corruption-free while the Naveen Patnaik-led government here is neck-deep in corruption,” alleged the Leader of Opposition, Jayanarayan Mishra.

Congress MLA, Tara Prasad Bahinipati said, “I will give a big zero to both—PM Narendra Modi and CM Naveen Patnaik. Both have done nothing for the people.”

Responding to the allegations, ruling BJD MLA Sashi Bhusan Behera said, “Opposition should clarify what negative they are seeing in the government. We do not need any ratings from them as it is the people who are giving ratings to the government here.”

Reason Behind BJP Awarding 0 To Naveen

At a time when there is a debate over BJD-BJP bonhomie at the Centre, it is speculated that it could be a deliberate ploy to make it look like the BJP is going to give a tough fight to the BJD here in the state. Did the state BJP rate CM Naveen and his works ‘0’ only to infuse new energy among its activists or actually there have been no developmental works here for which the Opposition gave a 0 rating to the government?

Political experts, on the other hand, said that no matter what rating the opposition gives, it will have no impact on the BJD-BJP relation at the Centre.

Meanwhile, speculations are also rife on several political equations after CM Naveen rated PM Modi 8 out of 10. Many are guessing whether there will be any alliance between the BJD and BJP in future?

“The rating or ranking politics has reached an interesting phase in Odisha. The ranking politics won't have any impact on the BJD-BJP relationship at the Centre. It is only to mislead people as already there has been a deal between them,” said senior journalist, Prasanna Mohanty.