During his victory acceptance speech of 2008 in Chicago, President-elect Barack Obama stated, “If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.”
He was speaking of the American dream. let me speak about the Indian dream. The Indian dream has been epitomised by the flashy cars and swanky high-rises, of quadrupling net worth and wealthy IPOs. That could be attributed to the Indian economic dream. But there is also another dream, the Indian political dream. There have been numerous attempts to portray it, the latest being the sound-bites about a tea vendor trying to become Prime Minister. Though I oppose the philosophy of the BJP, I do endorse that each person irrespective of his upbringing is eligible by the Constitution given to us to run for an office as mandated through elections.
Coming back to the Indian political dream, this country has seen many inspirational stories from Pandit Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and, finally, Rahul Gandhi. It has also seen the rhetoric of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Biju Patnaik. But away from these very prominent stories is another one, that of a humble teacher of an Anandapur school in Keonjhar district and how he climbed through the various rungs of power to become the president of the State Congress. A man, who became an MlA in 1980 in his first election itself, worked under the formidable JB Patnaik and later grew in stature and experience to finally expel JB’s son-in-law Soumya Patnaik from the same party. He is Jayadev Jena. It is usually said that a man’s stature is known not by the friends he keeps but by the enemies he has. In 1980, his challengers were restricted to his Anandpur constituency; today his challengers range from the Naveen Patnaik-led BJD, the powerful Patnaik faction of the Congress, the sharp OJM chief Pyarimohan Mohapatra and some within his party who would not like to cooperate with him lest he becomes more powerful.
A Dalit youth rose to an MlA from a schoolteacher and finally became a Minister with Independent Charge of the Department of School and Mass Education in 1996. This story may not evoke the same passions on the Twitter or FB as the tea vendor remarks would, partly since many don’t know and probably it is fashionable to be seen pro-Modi-fied nowadays. But in a political career spanning 35 years, having been an MlA for 20 years, Jena, Odisha Congress president twice and a Minister for four years cumulatively, this schoolteacher has travelled a long distance from Keonjhar to Bhubaneswar.
He also became an AICC secretary handling sensitive States like Uttar Pradesh and Assam. He was also associated in party organisational management along with stalwart Janardhan Dwivedi. When he was AICC secretary, during a meeting with him, I asked, “What do you count as your secret of success.” He replied, “Hard work, hard work and hard work.” His critics too give him the credit for being a very hardworking man. When he became PCC president for the second time in May 2013, dislodging the formidable Niranjan Patnaik; I was present at the meeting where he was felicitated at the Congress Bhawan. I kept picking up bits of information. The grapevine had it that within six months Jena would be again replaced. It’s been six months since then and Jena has not only steadied his position in the party but dealt a death blow to the strong Patnaik faction which had the entire party organisational setup within its grip for over three decades.
The real test for Jayadev Jena would be the 2014 polls. While the party’s performance under him in the UlB elections could be discounted since he was barely a few months into office, the 2014 Assembly and lok Sabha polls could either be his elixir or waterloo. The Patnaiks led by media baron Soumya Ranjan Patnaik is going to launch a party probably carrying the word Congress in it. On the other hand, rumours of a OJM tie-up with the BJP along with possibilities of arraying a group of small and rather nondescript parties as a Mahmenta is also in the offing. All these developments would be attempts at chipping away the Congress vote-bank. On the top of it are the BJD and its supremo Naveen Patnaik who is storming across the State, laying foundation-stones one after another. Irrespective of the results in the western Odisha and Kandhamal UlB elections, the BJD is attempting to outsmart the Opposition once again for a straight four win.
In this scenario, Jayadev Jena has to come good on the expectations of the party high command. Reportedly, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi has given Jena strong support for any measures necessary for cleansing the State Congress and rebuilding it. While Jena might be doing that, the seat tally on the counting day could also make or mar his position.
Many expect that with his efforts the party would increase its tally from the present 26 seats to a respectable total. On the other hand, there are dissident factions which are already working overtime to trip him adequately and teach him a lesson for messing around with them. With the BJD in power for the past 14 years and the State administration under its grip, Jena also needs to break the gridlock into which the Congress has apparently fallen.
Rejuvenating the Congress rank and file across the 30 districts while also planning strategy and electoral campaigning along with media management and resource mobiliaation are herculean efforts for any leader and, more so, difficult for Jena.
Jena’s dream run has run a full circle. He was ousted as PCC president six months before the elections of 2009. He is now PCC chief with about six months to go to the polls. Expectations run high for Jena, who had the audacity to go beyond the realms of his limitations and challenge the status quo to reclaim his position within the party. The stage is set for him to perform under the microscopic lenses of his well-wishers and critics, supporters and adversaries, challengers and friends.
The next six months could well define the political dream run of Jena. If he brings respectability to the Congress tally, he could look a five-year dream run ahead to the 2019 elections with enough powers to chop and change as needed. But if he falters, the shrieks of his political opponents in the party would get louder asking for his head.
And if by an act of miraculous fortune, he manages 74 seats, he might end up heading the Treasury Bench in the Assembly like a Siddharamaiah. For Jayadev Jena, the clock is ticking to 2014. What he makes of it would determine the extent of his dream run.
(Dr Sasmit Patra is a keen observer of the Odisha politics. He can be reached at sasmitpatra@gmail.com)