After the just-concluded panchayat elections, the BJD and the BJP are at loggerheads over the IOCl issue.
The results of the rural polls have given the saffron outfit a shot in the arm as its tally has far improved while the BJD, though still on the top, has failed to come to terms with the BJP’s meteoric rise and its own vote slide compared to the 2012 Zilla Parishad tally.
The acrimony between the two parties is sure to stay as there are the UlB election in 2018 and the general election in 2019.
The erstwhile coalition partners from 2000-2009 have grown sworn enemies ever since their honeymoon was terminated and BJD decided to fight election alone. Shorn of power and continuous poor performance thereafter had made the BJP look for opportunity to settle scores with the BJD, which remained a far cry for the party for long as the regional party swept elections for next two terms in 2009 and 2014. The 2012 panchayat elections and all other local and cooperative polls too were in favour of the ruling BJD.
But things have begun to take a reverse turn for the BJD and the BJP’s acceptance has begun to rise. Needless to say, the aggressive posturing of Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has made a difference. The panchayat poll results which gave unexpected success to the BJP are credited to the leadership skill and organisational acumen of Pradhan, besides his bold and fearless attitude to take on the BJD and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
Since the decision of the BJD Government to withdraw the sop to the refinery project has come immediately after the panchayat poll results, the BJP has gone lethal and cornered the State Government on the issue. Petroleum Minister Pradhan under whose Ministry the IOCl comes has spewed venom against the BJD Government and especially Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
The IOCl unit had courted a controversy when the BJP and the BJD were involved in a fight over taking credit for the plant. The inauguration event of the unit had triggered both verbal and poster war between the two parties. And, the latest sop withdrawal to the company by the State Government has again thrown the BJP and the BJD into a fighting mode.
Pradhan, holding a Press conference, alleged that the BJD Government has taken the step as Chief Minister Patnaik has harboured hatred and anger for him due to the massive success of the BJP in the panchayat poll. Pradhan suggested that the BJD Government should rise above narrow political interest and should not foil the industrialisation spree in the State. He also talked about breach of trust and the joblessness, such a step by the State Government would lead to, affecting the Odia youths.
The BJD, however, stuck to its ground saying that there is no breach of trust and violation of the MoU with the IOCl as the sop withdrawn to the company was subject to its profitability. BJD spokesperson Pratap Deb justified the move as the IOCl has made good profit of crores of rupees over the years.
It may be reminded that the BJD had questioned the huge amount of money spent in the use helicopters during the campaign for panchayat election by the BJP heavyweights like Pradhan, Jual Oram and others. The BJD had also alleged that oil companies had spent money and even spared their manpower for the BJP campaign. May be, ever since the IOCl has been under scanner and the cut in the sop to the oil company could be its fallout.
When Pradhan has been talking about the interest of Odisha in the IOCl affair, he also owes an answer explaining about the highly expensive campaign made by his party. It is because withdrawal of sop to IOCl is as much a part of a narrow political game plan as is using the company’s assets and money for fighting poll for a particular party.
