Even as the Opposition continuing their tirades over several negative issues having the potential of damaging the Government’s image severely, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik looks confident for his party BJD in the February panchayat elections.
While Patnaik still remains unblemished despite several of his party colleagues neck-deep in corruption and a few even put up in jail, as a performing Chief Minister, he continues to get kudos. Whether it is the Congress or the BJP, Patnaik has been patted by their Central leaders at various points of time much to the chagrin of the State cadres. And this, notwithstanding the fact that in the last 16 years of his rule no substantial change has taken place in the fate of the poverty-ridden State.
Several incidents have occurred putting the credibility the BJD Government at stake, but unfortunately the opposition parties except creating some noises have neither exploited them to their full advantage not managed to defame the ruling party. Experts attribute it to ineptitude of the opposition leaders besides their lack of unity and focus on issues.
Starting from Gumudumaha firing to Nagada and Malkangiri infant deaths, Mahanadi and Polavaram, Mayor and angst of the Puri Gajapati and the Sankaracharya, opposition parties have created much uproar against the Government and held strikes and blockades but at the end of the day it looks they were doing all to just hog the limelight and be in public glare. But they failed to be convincingly specific about the lapses of the Government. Nor could they tell what better could have been done at a given juncture. Besides, thanks to lack of cohesion among the leaders in the party and even ego-clash among a few in the same forum, they could not be on the same page with regard to their stand on a specific issue and unwittingly let many sensitive issues slip from their hands.
There was much hue and cry over the Nagada malnutrition deaths and Malkangiri JE deaths by the Congress and the BJP. Central teams reached at the two places, but gave a favourable opinion of the post crisis management by the State Government. The BJP accused the BJD Government of not spending the Central grants in the backward areas leading to cases like Nagada and not promptly acting to take health measures to tackle the JE epidemic. It also criticized Chief Minister Patnaik for not paying a visit to Malkangir to show solidarity with the JE victimized families. But on the reverse, Patnaik skipped visiting the tribal district for a long time and when he did, he announced ex-gratia for the families who lost kids to the disease and several sops for tribals. Thus the Chief Minister managed to win over the tribals at one stroke. While BJP whose Government is at the Centre chuckled with having announced no financial aid to the JE victims, the Congress soon resorted to a Bandh expressing dissatisfaction over the quantum of the ex-gratia by the State Government. But they helped little to put balm on the wounds of the victim families.
In the Mahanadi and Polavaram issues too, the Congress and BJP could not earn much political capital as has been earned the BJD. While both Congress and BJP attacked BJD for having neglected as to what had been happening with the river at the neighbouring Chhatisgarh, senior Congress leader and loP Narasingha Mishra from the very beginning demanded that the State Government should explore the legal options and ask the Centre for a tribunal. The issue remained hot for a considerable length of time with the three parties engaged in mudslinging. But Patnaik did just what Congress wanted him to do, but not instantly. The BJD held Sate wide agitation and gave slogans against the BJP- led Central Government for partisan attitude till it created enough goodwill among the electorate and then as a last option explored the tribunal option. In between it had attended a tripartite meeting with the mediation of the Centre whose result was on the expected line (failure), while a BJD team went to Chhatisgarh for an on-the-spot assessment. later, when it returned Odisha it kept giving adverse views against the Chhatisgarh Government for constructing the dams unilaterally and with tacit support of the Centre. The duplicity of the BJP was thus brought to the fore, while the movement of the Congress under the leadership of Mishra lost steam due to internal feud between the legislature and organisational wings.
While Bhubaneswar Mayor’s alleged sexual escapade has put the BJD Government in a soup, with pressure mounting on the CM to sack the BMC chief- his blue eyed boy under whose tenure Bhubaneswar earned the top position in the Smart City contest, as a double whammy Puri Gajapati Dibya Singh Deo and Sankaracharya Nischalanada Saraswati dropped bombshells by giving their explosive statements on the apathy shown to lord Jagannath, Shreemandir and Puri in terms of development by the BJD Government. However, after a day or two of the outbursts of the Gajapati and the Sankaracharya, the issue was virtually forgotten, giving an easy escape to the BJD.
Nevertheless, the Mayor sex clip issue has remained hot. But Patnaik has so far ignored the question of axing the Mayor and has given an impression that he is not going to budge.
Needless to say, Patnaik has managed to the push the Congress and the BJP to the edge at a time when the State is going to have a mega election in February. He has already blown the poll bigul at the BJD foundation day celebration in the city on Monday by attacking the Centre for its anti-Odisha stand and the Congress and the BJP for blaming his Government for publicity overdrive.
It is clear that Patnaik has repeated his old strategy of Centre bashing by keeping the Central leaders and the State leaders of the national parties at opposite poles, while over the last 16 years, the BJP and Congress have not evolved a reliable counter-strategy to neutralise Patnaik.