When Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik was recently asked if his party, the BJD, was eyeing an alliance with the Congress, his answer was an emphatic no. “We want to keep an equidistance from both the Congress and the BJP," he said.
Referring to the poor representation of both the parties in the Assembly, he quipped that there is no sign of their gaining the strength in the state. In short, he was dismissive of his main political rivals.
Having been the undisputed king of Odisha for nearly two decades, Naveen, despite his irritating reticence, sounds confident each passing day. Yet, he doesn’t brag about it. Having survived the anti-incumbency factors time and again, the BJD supremo has reasons to feel self-assured.
He sits pretty even as his popularity is going to be put to test once again in the forthcoming panchayat polls because the main opposition Congress seems to be imploding and the BJP is yet to brace up to the occasion.Besieged with chronic factionalism, the Congress is in a complete state of disarray in Odisha. Its fighting leaders are bringing the party down every day much to the delight of the ruling party.
Bizarre as it may sound, the Opposition has failed once again to exploit the Mahanadi water-sharing issue which had put the Naveen government on the mat after the Raman Singh–led government in Chhattisgarh called Odisha’s bluff. While the BJD has gone to people in a big way using the same Mahanadi issue, neither the Congress nor the BJP could cash in on an issue which is emotive for the people of the state.
Funnily, Congress leaders, while protesting over the matter, tried to appropriate the issue to their individual advantage. In the process, the grand old party lost the plot and squandered the opportunity to nail Naveen. Instead of fighting for the cause, the Congress leaders ended up demanding state party chief Prasad Harichandan’s removal and made a mockery of themselves.
Acute factionalism has been the story of the Congress in the state for far too long. As soon as the president is elected, the factions join forces to pull the new dispensation down.
The All India Congress Committee, which has adopted a policy to displease none, has not bothered to put the house in order. As a result, the faction-riddled party has failed to put up a strong show on the Assembly floor and outside despite critical issues — such as the Nagada malnourishment deaths, Gumudumaha police firing, Dana Majhi’s sad plight, Mahanadi controversy and most recently the Japanese encephalitis outbreak — which could have been used to expose the BJD’s governance paralysis.
So preoccupied are Congress leaders in their infighting that the party failed to take even one important issue to its logical conclusion. It was for the same reason the multi-crore-rupees ponzi and mining scams which had the involvement of many BJD bigwigs are a thing of the past now.
What has further come as a bolt for the Congress is the death of Lalatendu Bidyadhar Mohapatra, a three-time MLA and a strong organiser who enjoyed cult status among the youth. The only binding factor in the party, Mohapatra’s demise means the Congress will have its task cut out to rejuvenate itself.
The BJP, the second-largest Opposition party, continues to cling on to the Modi magic factor and hopes that it would do the trick to bring the party to power. There has been no discernable expansion of the party’s roots in the state in the last two years. Its state leadership has at best been indifferent and at loggerheads most of the time sending confusing signals to the cadre.
As a result, the saffron party’s visibility remains poor. Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s recent assertion that BJD’s over-confidence would prove to be its undoing in the next polls — a fate that befell the CPM in West Bengal — could only be dubbed as a daydream because the Naveen government continues to be ahead in the perception battle in the state despite suffering several setbacks in the recent times.
A strong political Opposition is a prerequisite for any state’s healthy democratic environment and development. Notwithstanding their small numbers in the Assembly, both the Congress and the BJP have a responsibility towards the people and must win their trust.
Srimoy Kar
Resident Editor, Odisha
Email: srimoy@newindianexpress.com