The announcement of urban local body (UlB) elections here and their subsequent derailment due to agitation in western Odisha due to lawyers’ stir for High Court bench has created many problems for the ruling BJD.
With BJD strongman and sitting MlA Sarada Prasad Nayak on the scanner for his role in the May 29, 2012 coup and his importance having decimated, winning the municipal elections might be a tough task for the party. Besides, the reemergence of former Union Minister Dilip Ray is said to throw a challenge to the BJD.
In spite of the fact that Ray is no longer staying permanently atm Rourkela as before and has not been active in politics since 2008, his personal rapport with the electorates of Rourkela has not waned. This has come handy when he attempted to take control of Rourkela politics for the second time in his new avtar as a BJP leader. Although BJP has no base in Rourkela, the personal touch of Ray with cross sections of people has done wonders and he is expected to give BJP the much needed push in the UlB polls.
These days, the BJD is in most vulnerable situation since Nayak took over charge of the party before 2004 Assembly elections. A lot of grassroots party workers and potential candidates in municipal elections have left the party and joined the BJP at the behest of Ray.
They have no love for the BJP nor are they attracted by the BJP ideals, rather they have accepted the leadership of Ray in order to teach Nayak a lesson for his arrogance. Prominent among them include sitting BJD councilor Samarapriya Tanty and BJD students’ wing president Anil Sagar.
It is worthwhile to mention that Nayak started his political career in the Congress party. As an activist of the Congress party, people have seen him participating in anti-BJD rallies and burning effigies of former Chief Minister Biju Patnaik and incumbent Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik or garlanding the images with shoes. At the time of Assembly elections notification last time, both Ray and Nayak were in the Congress but the former was in a position to decide who would be Congress candidate at Rourkela.
In the hope of getting Congress ticket with Ray’s blessing, Nayak had organised a huge gathering at the= airport followed by a procession when Ray returned from Delhi to Bhubaneswar. On being denied ticket, Nayak turned to BJD and ultimately emerged victorious in the electoral battle.
It is said that nothing succeeds like success. With the blessing of Pyari Mohapatra, Nayak climbed one step after another in the political ladder and ultimately became a Minister. His decline started after the May 29 coup. Since then he has remained on the watch list of Chief Minister Patnaik. In addition, his behaviour with the people when he was at the peak of power and promotion to undesirable and unpopular elements has added to his woes.
It is interesting to note that the weakening of BJD and consequent strengthening of BJP at Rourkela during the past several months is not due to any loss of faith in Naveen Patnaik’s leadership.
Rather, it is due to the determinations of the people to cut Nayak to size and settle scores for the way he has treated people when in power. The process has been hastened by the role played by the chosen emissary of Naveen Patnaik, Panchayati Raj Minister Kalptaru Das to guide the party in its hour of crisis. All that Das has done is to blindly support to Nayak in all his actions without taking into consideration the interests of the party.
This has created a situation where genuine party lovers and workers have felt helpless and frustrated. They have realized that they cannot get justice within the party.
This has led to the exodus of Ray’s supporters from the BJD. The sooner Naveen Patnaik realizes the gravity of the problem, the better for the party, lest damage done to the party may be irreparable.