The Naveen Patnaik-led BJD Government has gone unscathed by the Central Governments of UPA-led by the Congress and NDA headed by the BJP despite the fact that the State units of the two parties have attacked Patnaik on several fronts. The mismatch in the Central and State units in both the parties has been one of the major reasons why they are rendered weak in Odisha.
During the last two terms of the UPA Government at the Centre, Patnaik was almost spared of his Government’s alleged involvement in chitfund, mining, coal and land scams, though the State Congress made these scams its principal weapons to expose the Government and endear itself to the people. Though the State Congress leaders demanded the CBI probe into all these scams, with Centre’s tacit support the Patnaik Government managed to laugh it away and stayed steady on its probe by the State agencies. The double standards of the Congress in a host of issues appeared more striking than the culpability of the State Government.
The State BJP leaders too have been left red-faced after their party’s
national president Amit Shah dealt Patnaik with kid-gloves. In the Mahasangram rally, he avoided attacking the BJD Government despite thefact that the BJD involvement in several scams has been overt. A few leaders of the ruling party have been arrested and jailed for link in chit fund scam. The BJP may take a plea that the time is not fit to turn the heat on the BJD as elections are due in 2019. Senior BJP leader Pratap Sarangi said it is foolish to expect someone blow conch in noon as only evening is the proper time for it when aarti is done.
He said the BJP has a clear-cut strategy and will act as per it. The opposition leaders in the State seem to forget one vital point that if anything that saves Patnaik from the fury of their Central leaders, it is not the time factor as BJP harps on or secret pact between the Centre and Patnaik that the Congress says, but the overwhelming verdict that the ruling party enjoys. Modi knows the power of popular verdict. He even has confessed in a public meeting that when he shakes hand with the world leaders, howsoever powerful they may be, Modi does not come to the picture, rather a leader with support of crores of Indians does and hence, that makes the Indian Prime Minster weighty.
Patnaik has been in power in the State for the last four consecutive terms and that is his recognition—his main vitals. Whether it is Congress or BJP, their Central leaders know the risk they have to run to criticize a popular Government all the time.
Besides, the scams that the State Congress and BJP leaders are so engrossed with to pillory the BJD Government have also shown that they may have taken place during the last 14 years of rule of the BJD Government but the BJD leaders are not alone involved. Be it mining, coal bock, chit fund or discretionary quota scam, the involvement of the Congress and BJP leaders is also alleged. Hence, if BJD is not clean, the BJP and Congress are not clean either.
It is, therefore, high time the opposition leader refrained from their long cry over scams and concentrated on strategy to come closer to the people at the grassroots. The Congress’s long years of misrule, corruption, lack of cohesion among the leaders and indiscipline had created popular disenchantment leading to the BJD’s ascendency to power. The BJP which was an ally of the BJD for two terms in the State had sullied its image due to the wrongdoings of a few of its leaders who were made Ministers. So, these two parties have to introspect about image makeover and work for winning back the trust of the public at large.
With the landslide electoral victory of Modi in the 2014 general elections and the BJP’s coming to power, apart from the party’s spectacular performances in subsequent polls in various States, the State BJP has got revitalized. But, despite making hard efforts, the party failed to win the Kandhamal lS seat in the by-poll.
Unfortunately neither the State Congress nor the BJP has grown in stature as yet to be credible alternative of the longest ruling BJD.
They have miles yet to go and no measure of compliancy would work at this point of time.
To be precise, unity in party, complete faith and respect for a top leader at the helm, clean image and constructive opposition for genuine betterment of the State can help the opposition throw a challenge and uproot the Patnaik Government.