In Puri, it's BJD pinning hopes on temple; BJP on PM Modi, Sambit Patra's connect

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a roadshow in Puri after offering prayers at the Lord Jagannath temple. Later in the day, BJP candidate Sambit Patra in a media interview said Lord Jagannath is a devotee of PM Modi. This was enough for Odisha's ruling Biju Janata Dal to pick it up and make it a poll issue.

Patra later apologised for his "slip of tongue" and announced to hold a fast for three days as atonement for the sin he committed. On Wednesday, the party published a full-page ad in all leading newspapers of Bhubaneshwar and Puri with a written apology letter by Patra.

Lord Jagannath is revered across the state and if it becomes an issue, then Patra will face the heat in Puri. However, an opponent like Arup Patnaik of the BJD is providing comfort to the BJP there. A former Mumbai police commissioner, Patnaik lost in 2019 from the Bhubaneswar Lok Sabha constituency and this time shifted to Puri.

In 2019, it was a close battle in Puri with BJD candidate Pinaki Mishra winning over Sambit Patra by 11,700 votes. It is this margin that has led the BJP to believe that it can win this seat. Out of the seven assembly segments in the Lok Sabha constituency, the BJD won five and the BJP got the remaining two, including the Puri assembly seat where the temple is situated, in the simultaneously held assembly polls.

The BJD is banking on the temple renovation project carried out by the state government, which has transformed the area around the Jagannath temple. The work is still ongoing.

BJP leaders including PM Modi and union home minister Amit Shah have already campaigned in the constituency. The BJP is keeping its focus on the missing keys of the Ratna Bhandar of the Jagannath temple. BJP leaders accuse the BJD government of mismanagement. The BJD, meanwhile, says the Ratna Bhandar will be opened in July as per court orders.

According to people on the ground, Patra was active in the constituency even after losing the election.

Montu Behera (32), who works in a hotel near the temple, said Patra used to meet and greet people.

"He lost the election but never lost touch with the people of the temple town. He tried to help several people," he said. Like several others, Behera is a split voter who thinks the BJD is good for the state and the BJP for the Centre.

Sarthak Panda, a priest, said he would vote for Patra and Modi in the LS. On Patra calling Lord Jagannath a devotee of PM Modi, Panda said: "These kinds of mistakes do happen. It was not deliberate. He has apologised for it. The matter is over."

Raja Behera (23), a fish supplier in hotels near the Puri beach, will vote for the first time. "My family members are planning to vote for Modi in LS and the BJD in assembly," he said.

For Jagrut Panda who performs Puja at the Jagannath temple, the work done by the Naveen Patnaik government in the renovation of the temple is the reason to vote for the BJD in both elections. "Temple renovation is still going on and Naveen Babu keeps his promises of delivery. My vote is for his leadership," he told ET.

Siuli Sana and her husband Ripun Mondal from Badia Panda run a small tea shop on the Puri beach. "While I will vote for 'Shankha (BJD) and Padma (BJP), my husband will vote for Padma (BJP) in both assembly as well as Lok Sabha. We often fight over this. The state government has done good work for the women," she said, laughingly.

In 2019, the Congress received 44,000 votes in the Lok Sabha constituency. This time, party candidate Sucharita Mohanty dropped out of the race and at the last-minute Congress had to field Jay Narayan Patnaik. With the Congress almost out of the race, both the BJD and BJP hope to grab that vote share. In all, the BJD is facing a tough fight to retain a seat it won for six consecutive times.