Musical chairs’, a metaphor for party hopping and switching political affiliations to fight polls, is being staged in near-absurd proportions in the arena of electoral politics in Odisha if the prevailing political trend ahead of the simultaneous polls in the coastal state is anything to go by.

Former Congress MLA K Suryo Rao quit the party to join the BJD on Saturday as former Biju Janata Dal MLA from Bhubaneswar (North) Priyadarshi Mishra resigned from the party to join the BJP.

Hours after resigning, both were swiftly inducted into the BJD and the BJP with ample indications of both getting tickets for the upcoming Assembly polls.

In another setback to the regional party, Kendrapara MP and actor-turned-politician Anubhav Mohanty on Saturday resigned from the primary membership of the BJD.

Former MLA and actor Akash Das Nayak resigned from the primary membership of the Biju Janata Dal on Saturday.

Sidelined by the BJD, Mohanty and Nayak jumped fences to wear saffron gear with speculation of being offered tickets.

Over two dozen politicians, including sitting MPs, sitting MLAs, and former MLAs, have switched sides recently. While some of them joined a new party of their choice and convenience, others were weighing their options to take a call on joining the party.

While the BJP is eyeing on inducting several disgruntled BJD and Congress leaders, the regional party and the grand old party (Congress) are also in the race to rope in members from rival parties.

The exodus-hit Congress, however, trails in the race. The ‘disturbing’ exodus spectacle has left the Congress cadres thoroughly demoralised as the possibility of more desertion looms large to dent its poll prospects.

As per the emerging trends, the BJP has indulged in poaching the disgruntled BJD leaders. However, the regional party has largely not succeeded in luring the saffron party leaders to its fold. The induction of Congress leaders into the BJD is much more than that of the BJP.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the Biju Janata Dal with 12 seats bagged the maximum number of seats, followed by the BJP (8) and the Congress (1).

In the last assembly elections, held simultaneously with the general election in 2019, the BJD had won 113 of the 147 seats. The BJP stood a distant second with 23 seats, followed by the Congress with 9. The CPM won one seat and Independent one.

“Party changeover by politicians has become a rule rather than an exception in Odisha. Electoral musical chairs have turned the pre-poll scene theatrical. It has made a mockery of democracy,” observed Mahendra Panigrahi, a retired government employee.

It remains to be seen whether those switching sides emerge victorious. It all depends on those who cast their votes. But voters are left with little or no choice as in some of the constituencies, the poll battle may be fought between the party hoppers, Panigrahi concluded.