Raghubar Das's appointment as Odisha governor seen as move to balance power struggles within BJP in Jharkhand

The appointment of Raghubar Das, the national vice-president of the BJP and a former chief minister of Jharkhand, as the 26th governor of Odisha is perceived as a tactic to counterbalance internal power struggles within the saffron party in advance of the parliamentary and Assembly elections in 2020.

Senior BJP leader from Ranchi, who served as a cabinet minister under Das's chief ministership from 2014 to 2019, acknowledged on Wednesday that the nomination was "unexpected."

"We were aware that Raghubar ji was consulted on state political matters and received the approval of Amit Shah ji, particularly following the appointment of Mandu MLA J.P. Patel as the chief whip of the Assembly and Chandankiyari MLA Amar Kumar Bauri as the leader of the BJP legislative party. Both Amar Bauri from JVM and J.P. Patel from JMM were recruited to the BJP by Raghubar Das, who was close to both of them. But this was not what we expected to hear. With Raghubar ji removed from active state politics, it has made room for party chief Babulal Marandi to make decisions for the party without intervention, the leader stated. He acknowledged that there were three centers inside the BJP's state unit: Arjun Munda, Raghubar Das, and Babulal Marandi.