Defections flavour of the season in Odisha
POWER PLAY To bolster their poll prospects, Naveen Patnaik’s ruling BJD and BJP are busy poaching leaders from rival parties
As the spokesperson of the Congress party in Odisha, Sulochana Das made her political career by criticising the state government headed by chief minister Naveen Patnaik. But earlier this week, she was all smiles and praise for Patnaik as she stood next to a bemused chief minister for a photo op on the portico of his sprawling Bhubaneswar home.
However bizarre, the volteface by Das is the flavour of the season in the state where elections are just a year and a half away.
To bolster its poll prospects, Patnaik’s ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) is busy poaching leaders from rival parties.
So is the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), nurturing hopes of wresting power for the first time in the state in 2019.
There is barely a week when Union petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan — the party’s chief ministerial aspirant — is not seen welcoming ‘deserters’ from other parties into his own at public functions.
“Aya Rams Gaya Rams are in demand,” scoffed political analyst Rabi Das, referring to the unending stream of political opportunists changing sides.
By the last count, the BJP has already inducted more than 100 leaders from the BJD and Congress. The BJD remains a close second, welcoming dozens of leaders primarily from the Congress. The BJP by far remains the favoured destination of deserters. Ever since it won 297 seats in the zilla parishad elections earlier this year and overtook the Congress as the main opposition party, there is an expectant buzz about the BJP in Odisha.
Inducting leaders from other parties does help in projecting the right optics, creating an impression that the party is getting stronger and is poised for a strong poll showing.
On Wednesday, Pradhan welcomed Gokulananda Mallik, a veteran Congress leader of Ganjam district, into the party.
“We need more people like Mallik who can steer us to victory in the assembly polls,” Pradhan told party men later.
Roping in leaders from other parties will expectedly help chief minister Patnaik in dispelling doubts about his declining mass appeal. But the BJP stands to gain more from the poaching game.
“The BJP all along has been a party weak in coastal and central Odisha. It is desperately seek- ing to strike roots there and leaders from other parties are helping them to do that,” analyst Das explained.
Every time the BJP wins over some rival leaders, it leaves no stones unturned in making it a big event so that people take notice.
The party organises ‘Mishran Parva’ (joining festival) and this month, three top BJD leaders, including former BJD MP from Koraput Jayram Pangi, were publicly rolled out the red carpet. If speculations are to be believed, the party is also readying to welcome BJD MP Baijayant ‘Jay’ Panda. The MP has reportedly had a bitter fall out with chief minister Patnaik and if he decides to cross over, he would be the biggest catch for the BJP.
The worst hit by the political poaching is the Congress.
None is giving the party any realistic chance in the 2019 polls and its leaders are leaving in droves.
Last week, its Nayagarh district president Lala Manoj Ray joined the BJP. “Many have realised that Congress is a sinking ship while BJD is on its way out. BJP is the natural choice,” said Sajjan Sharma, BJP spokesman.
The right-wing BJP has done what an extremist Leftwing party did almost three decades ago — wipe the Congress out of a troubled tribal council in Assam.
The BJP won 24 of the maximum 26 seats in the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC), the elections to which were held on June 17. The final result was declared on Friday.
The BJP contested the KAAC election for the first time, but had been ruling the council for a year after most of the executive members, or EMs, switched over to it from the Congress last year.
The remaining two seats went to the newly-formed Karbi Anglong Democratic Forum that backed 13 Independents . EMs of the council who were denied tickets by BJP had formed the forum, which is believed to be the saffron party’s ‘B-team’.
The Congress contested all seats, as did the BJP and the regional Hill State Demand Council party. The Asom Gana Parishad, otherwise an ally of the BJP in Assam, contested 14 seats. Almost all BJP candidates won by a comfortable margin over their nearest Congress rivals, while the candidates of AGP and other parties cut a sorry figure.
For Congress, the outcome is a throwback to the 1989 KAAC election, when the Autonomous State Demand Committee (ASDC) — a Marxist-Leninist party — bagged 22 seats. Till that year, Congress had been contesting the council elections indirectly by supporting the now-defunct Karbi Adorbar, a regional party.
“The KAAC election results reflect the mood of the people, who believe BJP can bring a change in their lives,” Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal said on Friday. The new council is scheduled to be formed by next week. We want a working information commission that is staffed. We want a commission that works for the Act and not the government; for transparency and not secrecy; and does not function under political pressure. The appointment of commissioners has been delayed. In addition, the kind of commissioners being appointed is also questionable. They get people from departments like the intelligence bureau and police, who are used to seeing people as enemies of the state. We need to get people with an open mindset. There are two kinds of emergencies. The first one was a constitutional emergency, so everybody knew there was an emergency and people were jailed. Today, we have
Aya Rams Gaya Rams are in demand. The BJP all along has been a party weak in coastal and central Odisha. It is desperately seeking to strike roots there and leaders from other parties are helping them to do that. FOR CONG, OUTCOME
IS A THROWBACK TO 1989 KAAC POLLS WHEN A MARXISTLENINIST PARTY BAGGED 22 SEATS