Cong rift: Blame one-upmanship, ego clash
There is now a clear signal as to a vertical division in the State Congress with one faction led by loP Narasingha Mishra and the other by PCC chief Prasad Harichandan. Congress legislature party met in Mishra's official residence where 14 MlAs are said to have attended, who resolved to work united under Sonia Gandhi, the party high command. It is obvious, this faction does not want interference of Rahul Gandhi who was not in agreement with the views of the legislators when they called on President Pranab Mukherjee on Mahanadi issue and later met Rahul Gandhi to plead for a leadership change in the PCC. Rahul's arrogance prevailed and Harichandan got a new lease of life as president of the grand old party, which was not to the liking of the Congress MlAs' group which returned to Bhubaneswar empty-handed. It is now clear that Rahul does not hold command on the Congress legislature Party in Odisha. But the legislature party's leaning towards Sonia has a risk factor involved as Rahul is certain to replace his mother as president of the AICC sooner than later. The other faction led by Prasad has all the district presidents on his side who gathered in the capital recently to finalise a strategy for the next panchayat election. These two separate meetings by two distinct factions provide enough indication of a clear division in the party and its fallout may be disastrous. The youth and the student cadres of the Congress are not with Prasad but their allegiance to the other faction is also not spelt out. Meanwhile, four legislators are said to have called on Rahul to discuss on the forthcoming Panchayat election. Going by the recent developments, this move by a small group of four MlAs must have surprised many.
R'kela projects: BJP holds cards close to its chest
During Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Rourkela in April1 2015, he had announced his Government's commitment for two projects. They are: Super Specialty Status for Ispat General Hospital with a medical college and the second bridge over river Brahmani. Despite being a commitment of none other than the Prime Minister of the country, the seriousness of implementing the projects is surprisingly lacking and the delay as its fallout has become a point of debate in the public domain. Neither the Steel Authority of India (SAIl) nor the Ministry of Surface Transport, Government of India is taking steps to expedite the project launch. The
Rourkela Congress sat on a day-long dharna near the Brahmani bridge on Wednesday last after which the BJP held a media conference to explain the position. But they were silent on the conversion of IGH into a super specialty hospital. local MlA Dilip Ray and Sundargarh MP Jual Oram do have all the latest information about the ongoing status of the
projects but they would not share that vital information with their party cadres. They would not even come out with full information before the media and wait for making hay while the sun signs.
Bhartuhari fiasco: BJD rift swept under the carpet
Journalists-turned politicians can never keep their hard feelings close to their hearts. Therefore Tathagata Satpathy's or Bhartruhari Mahtab's damaging remarks might not have gone well within the party circle, let alone its high command. Tathagata might have escaped the wrath of his party high command but Bhartruhari had to face the ire of the party supremo on charges of violating party discipline. Though he was talking of bridging the distance between BJD and Congress in the wake of an alliance of all secular parties at the national level, the BJD supremo had other ideas in mind and that's how a situation of confrontation between them arose. It further aggravated when he told the media that his statement was backed by Naveen Patnaik himself. Neither is there any deadline set for submitting his reply to the explanation called nor is there any intention of taking disciplinary action till end of the Winter Session of the Parliament because Mahtab is the leader of the BJD Parliamentary Party in the lok Sabha. Even after the Parliament Session, Mahtab is likely to escape with a lighter punishment, may be a sort of warning for not to repeat such act in future. In final analysis it can be concluded that BJD too has internal bickering which is swept under the carpet.
Dislodging BJD: BJP's desperation on
Despite the Central Government giving Rs 1.3 lakh crore to Odisha during the last two and a half years, the ruling BJD has failed to address the basic needs of its people. On the contrary, it has created hurdles for the Central schemes to reach the poor. During its 17-year rule, it has failed to provide pure drinking water to a large number of villages including some urban habitats. Dana Majhi is the living example of how he had to carry his wife's dead body for about 10 km on his shoulder when an ambulance could not be provided by the administration. People do not have access to basic needs in their day- to- day life. It is time the Government
should be rooted out and dethroned, said Amit Saha in the mega awareness rally organized by BJP in the State capital. People from all nooks and corner of the State assembled in what could be termed as BJP's 'show of strength' before the Panchayat election. Central Ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and Jual Oram also addressed the rally and spit venom against the ruling party. The charge sheet released on this
occasion contained several allegations putting BJD on the dock before the people's court which delivers judgement
through the ballot box. One has to wait till 2019 for the final mandate. If people's perception is an indication then BJP in all probability will dislodge Congress from the second position and qualify for the final against BJD. Even after working overtime for the success of the rally, BJP's
desperation continues as it falls short of dedicated grass root workers. Though scared, the BJD has termed the rally as a flop show.