A number of senior BJD leaders feel that the way the party is now moving, it may have an uncertain future. And interestingly, these leaders are losing sheen in the ruling party, according to political observers. A veteran Biju acolyte was reacting to the way he was ignored along with other senior leaders at the meeting of the BJD student wing here on Tuesday.
He remarked, “there is something wrong in the party and the way college boys and girls conducted themselves at the meeting was never seen in a political party.” Almost all the senior leaders were disappointed at the rally of boys and girls when comparatively newcomer and film star-cum-Rajya Sabha member Anubhav Mohanty was allowed to address the gathering. Senior leaders, including a number of Ministers, MPs, MlAs and party functionaries were not given opportunity to speak though they got a place on the dais.
The leaders who were disappointed included Bhubaneswar MP Prasanna Patsani, Kendrapada MP Baijayant Panda, Rajya Sabha member AU Singh Deo, Government Chief Whip Ananta Das and Minister Badri Narayan Patra. A select group of leaders, mostly those leading the party’s students and youth wings, were allowed to speak in the presence of party supremo and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. They included Anubhav Mohanty, Arun Sahoo, Debi Prasad Mishra, Sanjay Dasburma, Pramila Malik and student wing president Byomakesh Ray.
Naveen Patnaik was the main attraction while all other senior leaders kept sitting on the dais just wearing a green gamchha. Sources said Patsani’s request to address the gathering failed to motivate the organisers, who preferred to ignore the senior leaders. Debi Mishra and Arun Sahoo were allowed to speak because they are former BJD youth and student wing presidents.