Senior BJD leader Prafulla Chandra Ghadai’s open expression of his unhappiness over the manner in which he and his MlA-son Pritiranjan Ghadai were treated by the party leadership during this general election has rather come quite late.
Ghadai’s utterances may escalate to dissidence in the BJD, particularly after possible electoral debacles for the party in Jajpur district, feel political observers.
It is for the first time that Prafulla Ghadai has vented his feeling of being slighted by the leadership. He had not done so when he was removed from the Cabinet in 2012 and when he was denied the party ticket for his Sukinda constituency and Pritiranjan was shifted to Sukinda from his original Korei seat in this election.
According to observers, the Ghadai senior had kept mum for two reasons: expecting party tickets both for him and his son, as was the case in 2009, and for fearing probe into certain allegations against him.
Many believe that the old warhorse has lost the confidence of BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik after the alleged coup attempt by Pyarimohan Mohapatra against Patnaik’s leadership in May 2012. Patnaik dislodged Ghadai and several other so-called Mohapatra loyalists from the Ministry soon after the May 29 episode.
Added to Ghadai’s humiliations, his intra-BJD rival in Jajpur district politics Kalpataru Das was given a meteoric fillip in the party organisation not only in Jajpur but also across the State. Moreover, Naveen Patnaik gave Das a Rajya Sabha berth and nominated Das’ son Pranab Balabantray as the party candidate in his (Das’) constituency, Dharmasala.
Observers feel the mishandling of the power equations within the BJD unit in Jajpur district may cost the ruling party dear in the district in this election.