Will Congress Stage A Comeback In Odisha?
The appointment of Jayadev Jena as
PCC (I) president replacing old warhorse Niranjan Patnaik of all
powerful Patnaik family, has raised many eyebrows in Odisha Congress.
Jena’s appointment came as a shocker and surprise for many in the state
Congress when rejuvenated Congress was trying to fish in BJD’s troubled
waters in the background of Congress’s win in Karnataka Assembly polls.
Even though Niranjan Patnaik was not acceptable to many faction leaders
and workers due to his family ties with former Chief Minister JB Patnaik
and for the alleged involvement of the Patnaik family in mining
activities, some how he was instrumental in galvanising state Congress
by holding an impressive state rally and state-wide bandh.
AICC vice-president Rahul Gandhi has
ostensibly done it to pacify factionalism in State Congress and bring
all groups under one platform before the state goes to polls in 2014.
Rahul and Sonia Gandhi have done it to send a message that the Congress
stands for Dalits and minorities, though Odisha has never voted on caste
lines.
Being a Dalit face in State Congress
and former state minister and present AICC secretary in-chage of UP,
Jena was also PCC president for four-and-half-year in 2004-09. Just
before 2009 elections, he was removed and replaced by former Union
minister and Dhenkanal king KP Singhdeo. Many in the state feel that the
manner in which Congress high command replacing state chiefs before
elections is reducing chances of party’s electoral victory. The party
did it before the elections in 2000, 2004, 2009 and 2014.
The appointment of Jena has been
seen as Union Minister Srikant Jena’s desperate attempt to take over and
ensure his grip over the state Congress, though Jena is still not
acceptable as a Congressman as he has joined the party lately after the
collapse of Janata Dal.
Meanwhile, the Union Minister has
almost taken over reins of Odisha Congress in Delhi because of his
proximity with many senior Congress leaders in Delhi.
He is the only minister in Central
government from Odisha from among six MPs (including very senior
Congress leaders like former Chief Minister Hemananda Biswal and former
Union Minister and now AICC spokesman Bhakta charan Das).
The factionalism in state Congress
was visible on May 19, when Jena officially took over reins of State
Congress in Congress Bhavan. The MPs, the MLAs and the workers owing
allegiance to Patnaik family, all powerful youth leader Lulu Mahapatra
and other senior leaders, including a dozen state MLAs did not attend
the felicitation ceremony of Jayadev Jena.
Interestingly, a controversy has
erupted following the statement of Jayadev Jena on his day of
felicitation. Jena had said, “He was removed from PCC chief post just
before 2009 elections at the instance of the conspiracy of Naveen
Patnaik, because he was instrumental in Congress’s victory in two
successive by-elections and Zilla Parishad polls”. This statement did
not go well with his detractors, they have raised this issue alleging if
Naveen decides everything in state Congress then what is the need of
high command.
Karnataka shocker for Odisha
Meanwhile, Karnataka shocker has not
only thwarted BJP’s future prospects, it also has sent shock waves to
other ruling establishments and even non-Congress ruled states like
Odisha where elections will be held in 2014. The state’s ruling BJD and
its leader Naveen Patnaik who has been leading the government third time
in a row are a worried lot as they are apprehensive of an
ant-incumbency factor. That has prompted the Chief Minister to send
emissaries to all 30 districts as observers to study the prospects of
the sitting MLAs. Even Naveen is said to have lost faith over
re-elections in several of his Cabinet colleagues or senior party
legislators. That’s simply the reason he has asked his emissaries to
identify new people to replace the old guards. The whole exercise of
sending observers to districts has been meticulously planned in the name
of massive signature campaign (1 crore) to submit the Union government
in protest against the Centre’s step motherly treatment to Odisha for
not declaring it as a special category state.
Not only this, day in and day out,
Naveen is also facing stiff challenges from his bête-noire Pyari Mohan
Mahapatra. Mahapatra, a former bureaucrat, has floated a new political
party- Odisha Jana Morcha (OJM), a breakaway fraction of ruling BJD.
Mahapatra, known as ‘uncle’, was the chief advisor to Naveen and was
no.2 in the BJD. Mahapatra’s unsuccessful coup on May 29 last year, has
been still giving sleepless nights to Naveen.
Though Naveen has successfully tided
over that crisis, but Mahapatra under OJM banner has been rallying BJD
workers in many places and political parties, like Congress and BJP, are
also joining him.
However, amidst all these- the
emergence of rejuvenated principal Opposition party Congress with new
PCC (I) president Jayadev Jena, a Dalit face and the frequent visit of
Rahul Gandhi to Odisha, has further added woes to Naveen. Besides this,
the revamped BJP with whom Naveen had snapped ties just before last
elections in 2009, has just appointed its western Odisha strongmen KV
Singhdeo its state president; has also doubled Naveen’s concern. Apart
from this, the Left parties which were in alliance with BJD during last
elections, are in loggerheads with him over POSCO, Vedanta and Tata
steel projects. His industrialisation, mining, agriculture, tribal and
land acquisition policies have alienated the Left.
Meanwhile, a few more political
parties and fronts have surfaced and all of them have been targeting
Naveen and his policies. Despite his best efforts to woo voters by
announcing Re 1/- rice per kg to BPL families every month, a new youth
policy, agriculture policy, cycle for high school-going girl students, 5
lakh forest land patta for tribal and forest dwellers and numerous other schemes like BIJU KBK, Madhubabu Pension scheme still
look insufficient to thwart anti-incumbency factor.
look insufficient to thwart anti-incumbency factor.
According to political observers-
only his bachelorhood and clean image has kept him going all these 13
years. But, causality will be his little knowledge in Odia language.
Even when he is unable to speak the language of the state he has been
ruling since the last three consecutive term.
By Sudarshan Chhotoray from Bhubaneswar
http://udayindia.in/2013/06/22/will-congress-stage-a-comeback-in-odisha/
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