Over 100 meetings in six Lok Sabha constituencies in seven Odisha districts within just four days by road and rail is a difficult proposition even for leaders in active politics. But for Aswini Vaishnaw, Union Minister for Railways, Communications and Electronics, and Information Technology, who entered parliamentary politics two years ago, the unprecedented reception he received during his recent Jan Ashirwad Yatra kept him going and helped him re-establish his ties with Odisha.
The Minister in the Narendra Modi government had begun his professional life from Odisha as a civil servant in 1996 and left the State in 2003.
The public had little idea about Mr. Vaishnaw before he made a dramatic entry into the Rajya Sabha race in June 2019.
So much was his “utility” that Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had initially announced his candidature from the Biju Janata Dal (BJD). However, the BJP leadership managed to field him as their candidate. He again stunned political circles with his induction into Mr. Modi’s Cabinet.
Mr. Vaishnaw hails from Rajasthan. He worked for a while in Odisha, made entrepreneurial ventures in Gujarat and now stays in Gurugram. However, his carefully crafted visit to the undivided Kalahandi, Balangir and Koraput districts (KBK region) reaffirmed his political identity with Odisha.
The KBK region lacks adequate railway integration, and one-fourth of the country’s villages unconnected by the Internet is in Odisha. The Minister’s visit has triggered a new wave of expectations. Certain non-political citizens’ forums even queued up to give representations to Mr. Vaishnaw, seeking his intervention for the development of rail connectivity.
The former IAS officer travelled to the districts by train and collected feedback from passengers. During his roadshows, he talked to roadside vendors, sipped tea with party workers and mingled with the public. His eloquent Odia also gave him an edge.
According to sources close to him, the Minister made it a point to personally call district party office-bearers and inform them about his visit in advance. With just one visit, Mr. Vaishnaw has managed to create an impression of a leader who is accessible and can deliver. “In next six months, I will review the progress of different railway projects, including the much awaited Khurda-Balangir rail link,” he said.
Though the visit was part of the Jan Ashirwad Yatra planned by the BJP to introduce its new Union Ministers to the public, it assumes importance ahead of the panchayat and civic body polls scheduled early next year.
“The BJP has been strong in the western Odisha districts. The visit was very successful as it triggered much-needed enthusiasm among BJP workers who have been lying low since the general election in 2019,” said Navin Das, a senior journalist and political commentator.
Some political observers, however, said the BJP was trying to put up a collective leadership before the crucial panchayat polls as the present BJP leadership centred around Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan may find it difficult to take on the BJD led by Mr. Patnaik.
“Though Mr. Patnaik has been ruling for more than two decades, he has become popular with very innovative welfare programmes. The Smart Health Card is one of them. To counter this new wave of popularity, the BJP has no option but to face the elections with collective leadership. With both Mr. Vaishnaw and Mr. Pradhan holding important ministries, the saffron party is now trying to collect some goodwill among voters,” said Rabi Das, a political commentator.
