Bhubaneswar: The Waqf Amendment Bill 2024 passage has the tectonic impact on the political landscape in Odisha.  BJD RS floor leader Sasmit Patra voting in favour of the Bill has triggered a sort of internecine warfare in the regional outfit – that ruled the State for over 2 decades.

After the shocking defeat at the hands of BJP in the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections last year, the party seems to have lost the coherence. 

While two of its RS members – Mamata Mohanta and Sujeet Kumar – resigned from the party only to join the saffron party, and the BJP re-nominated them from the State as RS MPs, the regional party has braved that withering away then.

When the BJP splinters keep falling apart just months after the poll loss, the leader who was in charge to showcase that party stands united, addressing media persons then, in the presence of 6 other BJD RS MPs, in the national Capital had then said, “there are several vested groups that do not want the BJD to advocate more strongly for Odisha’s interests. We remain committed to raising Odisha’s concerns in New Delhi. The BJP government in Odisha is unsettled by our voice.”

This statement to media was given by none other than BJD RS floor leader Sasmit Patra in the winter days of last year.

As the season changes, when the winter gives way to spring, the same core BJD leader Sasmit Patra get astrayed from the party Waqf line, triggering an internecine war in the 28 year old regional party.

BIG POINT TO NOTE:  Sasmit Patra, who voted in favour of the Waqf Bill, has been the party’s minority face, as the leader belongs to Christian community.

After the BJD’s fiasco in RS, Muzibulla Khan, party’s another minority face, who belongs to Muslim community dropped two significant leads.

He said, party supremo informed him about opposing the Waqf Bill twice.

• First at the meeting of the minority cell
• Second at the iftar party function.

The above facts show the regional party has not held a threadbare discussion in the party forum, and has not issued a whip to its MPs in the upper house to vote on the party line.

MUZIBULLA KHAN SPEECH IN RS                                                                                                                                              

The regional entity’s minority face Muzibullah Khan spoke on the Bill as BJD voice. A look at his speech drops some big hints.

• He opposed the mandatory provision of participation of non-Muslims in the management committee under the amended Waqf bill.
• The BJD RS member argued that the entire Muslim community is worried over this provision.
• The film actor turned politician also questioned the provisions of the bill that mandates only practicing Muslims of at least five years to dedicate their property to Waqf.
• He questioned how can this be certified.
• In the same breath, the BJD RS member agreed to the following in his speech on the floor of the upper house.
• He said, “in some states, there possibly would be some cases of mismanagement in the Waqf Board and land grabbing by it. This has also to be cured.” 
• The last part of the speech excerpts show the minority face of BJD accept some scale of land grabbing by the Waqf board in some states.

WHY SASMIT PATRA CHANGES TUNE?

The statement of Muzibullah Khan that said in some states Waqf board might have indulged in land grabbing, when need to be seen in the context of the statement issued by the Catholic Bishop Conference of India (CBCI) in Delhi on March 31 hints at the real story behind.

March 31, 2025: The Catholics Bishops Conference of India supported the amendments to the central Waqf act by the Modi Govt.

• The press statement said, “Some of the provisions of the Waqf Bill are inconsistent with the Constitution and secular democratic values of the country.”
• The release has clearly then mentioned that the Waqf Board in Kerala has invoked the same provisions of the Waqf law to declare the ancestral properties of more than 600 families in the Munambam region as Waqf land.  
• The Statement of CBCI said, “Over the past three years, this issue has escalated into a complex legal dispute. The fact remains that only a legal amendment can provide a permanent solution, and this must be recognized by people’s representatives. “
• The CBCI has, therefore, urged all political parties and legislators to adopt an “unbiased” and “constructive” approach to this issue.

MINORITY VOTE BANK BALANCE 

With the Church taking a supportive view of the Bill, in the context of Munambam in Kerala, and Muzibulla Khan’s statement of “Waqf board grabbing land in some states, and it too need to be cured”, show the BJD’s ambivalent state of mind. It is this drift of mind state that is seen as the reason for non-issuance of whip by the party.

Significant, here is, in Odisha, the Christian voters have been in larger numbers than the Muslim voters.

As per census projections, the Muslim population in Odisha stands at 9.12 lakhs (2.17% of population), whereas the Christian population count is at 11.62 lakhs (2.77% of population).

Sasmit Patra comes from Khandamal, where Christian community has a sizeable presence.