Tag: Ashutosh Mishra

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: Odisha watchers might be bewildered by the elections results in the state. The BJP has made big gains in the Lok Sabha with its tally set to reach 7 from the 1 it had in 2014. But the voters’ enthusiasm for the party in the Lok Sabha has not been reflected […]

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: The most heartening aspect of 2019 verdict has been the near complete rejection of dynastic politics by the electorate. Nothing proves this better than the defeat of Congress president, Rahul Gandhi from the family borough of Amethi. He had inherited the seat from his father and former Prime Minister, Rajeev Gandhi […]

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: Congress in Odisha seems to have gone from bad to worse. The party, which ruled the state for the longest period, has lost its main opposition party tag to the BJP with its assembly tally getting reduced to nine from 16 in 2014. The victory of its candidate in the Koraput […]

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: An important aspect of this election in Odisha has been split voting, a phenomenon which has bewildered analysts. That the voters made distinctly different choices for the Lok Sabha and the assembly in many areas is evident from the victory of BJP candidates in eight Lok Sabha constituencies while the party […]

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: Balasore MP and freshly minted minister of state in Modi cabinet, Pratap Sarangi is all over the media. While social media has been going gaga over his austere lifestyle with pictures of him coming out of a thatched house going viral sections of the mainstream media have sought to put him […]

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: In his fifth innings as the chief minister of the state, Naveen Patnaik seems to have put his best foot forward asking his ministers to submit monthly performance reports with regard to the implementation of Biju Janata Dal’s election promises. The opposition may deride it as a political stunt but it […]

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: The controversy surrounding newly elected Patnagarh MLA, Saroj Meher’s alleged “dabanggiri” with a PWD junior engineer seems to be snowballing. With video clips of Meher, a first time lawmaker of Biju Janata Dal (BJD), forcing the JE to do sit-ups in public for having carried out poor quality of road work […]

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: Despite winning just 23 assembly seats in Odisha the BJP remains determined to pursue its Mission 120 Plus in the state which is crucial to its growth plans in eastern India. Senior party leaders have made it clear that though they are disappointed with the results of assembly elections there is […]

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: Chief minister, Naveen Patnaik’s request to Prime Minister, Narendra Modi at their recent meeting in New Delhi that states hit by major calamities be declared special focus states and granted benefits of special category status for a specific period has evoked varied reactions. While state BJP has described it as a […]

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: At a time when saving wildlife has become a challenge for the authorities it is heartening to note that blackbucks ( Antilope cervicapra ) have found a safe sanctuary in the Betnai-Balipadar area of Ganjam district with their population growing at a fast clip. During the last census in 2018 officials […]

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: Chief minister, Naveen Patnaik has been a staunch advocate of women empowerment. In one of his now famous speeches he had described empowerment of women as the real ‘double engine’ for growth, a phrase coined by Prime Minister, Narendra Modi while campaigning for his party in Odisha where he had sought […]

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: Chief minister, Naveen Patnaik’s decision to support BJP candidate and former IAS officer, Ashwini Vaishnav for the third Rajya Sabha seat from Odisha has taken many by surprise. After all, only about a month and a half ago the Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and BJP were at each other’s throats. […]

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: Odisha government’s decision to close down around 1000 schools with student strength of less than 10 has stirred a controversy with the move not going down well with parents and educationists. The government plans to shift these students to nearby schools. Arrangements will be made for escorts and payment of transport […]

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: The bizarre spectacle of a black magician trying to revive a dead woman, a victim of snakebite, near the morgue of Padampur sub-divisional headquarters hospital in Bargarh district on Sunday, once again proves that despite the spread of education superstition continues to rule roost in the rural areas of the state. […]

By Ashutosh Mishra Bhubaneswar: The visuals of Biju Janata Dal and BJP candidates filing their nominations for the Rajya Sabha by-poll together in the state assembly have made many political observers conclude that bonhomie is back between the two parties which had parted ways after ruling the state in tandem for more than nine years. […]