The Hindu : Naveen Patnaik's travails

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Tuesday, Sep 24, 2002

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Naveen Patnaik's travails

THE SPLIT IN the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), after at least half a dozen members of the Lok Sabha belonging to the party decided to form a separate group, was indeed in the making ever since Naveen Patnaik took over the party after his father, Biju Patnaik's demise. Apart from the fact that Mr. Naveen Patnaik was a novice on the political scene, his anointment as party chief was essentially an outcome of behind-the-scenes manipulations carried out by a whole lot of young leaders (now leading the revolt) who constituted the organisational muscle of the party. Even when Biju Patnaik was alive, there were instances when a section of the second generation leaders in the fold had begun asserting their right to lead the party. They, however, resisted the temptation to part ways only because they were aware of Biju Patnaik's mass appeal in Orissa and his stature as a veteran on the national political scene. They had also benefited, at that stage, from the experience of Rabi Ray (undoubtedly a leader with a long record in public life). They all had watched from close quarters, the marginalisation of Mr. Ray on the State's political scene after he broke ranks with Biju Patnaik. The two prominent second rung leaders in the BJD — Bijoy Mohapatra and Nalini K. Mohanty — could not have remained mute spectators when Mr. Naveen Patnaik captured the organisation they had built over the years.

In this sense, the split in the BJD has nothing to do with any kind of ideological differences. The two young turks, Mr. Mohapatra and Mr. Mohanty, who are the force behind the six Lok Sabha members who have raised the banner of revolt against Mr. Naveen Patnaik, may be known to have opposed the BJD's alliance with the BJP in the State. However, this is not the issue leading to the split. This has been revealed so clearly by the fact that the Mohapatra-Mohanty duo has been, without any hesitation, working along with Dilip Ray, who has been innocent of political convictions even when he was among the inner circle of Biju Patnaik. Mr. Dilip Ray, it may be recalled, had managed to garner votes cutting across party barriers to enter the Rajya Sabha in May 2002, causing ripples in the BJD, the Congress and the BJP then. While it remains to be seen as to whether the rebel leaders would succeed in their stated mission — to unseat Mr. Patnaik from the Chief Minister's post — with Mr. Dilip Ray on their side now, they are no longer short of resources to carry on with their project.

The split in the parliamentary party is significant for another reason too. The rebel faction in the Lok Sabha now consists of MPs from across Orissa. Apart from Prabhat Samantray, veteran trade union leader with a following among the workers in and around the Paradip port as well as in the Kalahandi belt, the rebels have been able to draw into their fold Prasanna Acharya from the Sambalpur region. Thus, it appears that the BJD organisation, built upon the strong anti-Congress legacy dating back to the socialist party days and maturing into a political platform in the form of the Janata Party (around Biju Patnaik), seems to have passed over to the rebels now. Mr. Naveen Patnaik is in serious trouble due to a combination of these reasons. A majority of those around him in the party (and in the Cabinet) are those who were marginalised at various stages after charges of corruption were made against them. Damodar Rout, for instance, seems to be his trusted aide now. It also remains to be seen as to how the BJP's State unit, now part of the ruling coalition, is going to react to the crisis in the BJD. Whether all this would lead to a change of leadership or not, the split, without doubt, will mark the beginning of a new political alignment in Orissa ahead of the elections to the State Assembly in 2004.

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