The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has become the first regional party to come to power on its own in Orissa when a 21-member ministry headed by the 62-year-old Naveen Patnaik was sworn in.
Patnaik, the first leader to become Chief Minister for the third consecutive term, and other ministers were administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor M C Bhandare. Seven of the 12 BJD ministers, who were part of the previous BJD-BJP coalition government, have also been included.
Setback for BJP
In the present term, however, the saffron outfit is crestfallen, with just six seats in the kitty out of the 147 it contested. This happens to be the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) worst performance ever in Orissa.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that without Naveen Patnaik’s political support, the party is back to where it started from in 1985 when it fought 67 seats and won one. In 1990 state elections, the BJP repeated its poor performance winning just two seats of the 62 where it fielded its candidates.
Negativism Factor
It was only in 2000 when the party joined hands with Patnaik that the story of its redemption began. For the first time in its existence in the eastern state, the BJP bagged 38 of the 63 seats it contested; it came back with flying colours in the 2004 Assembly elections by winning 32 of the 63 seats it fought.
Strangely, the only occasions where the party fared well in Orissa were the ones where they enjoyed Patnaik’s affections.
With the BJD support gone this time, the BJP is back to its old fledgling state, while the Congress has regained some seat and vote share in the state. And yet, the saffron grouping lost no time in forgetting old favours.
It arrogantly parted ways with Patnaik, following the collapse of seat sharing talks in March 2009. Not stopping at that, the BJP also turned its campaign against the man whose image had yielded them electoral benefits in the past.
No wonder, the negativism came back to haunt the BJP, which was routed in general elections this time, not bagging a single seat in Orissa, whereas it had, in alliance with the BJD in 1998 and 1999, won seven and nine seats, respectively, out of the nine and 11 contested.
On the other hand, the BJD emerged stronger than ever. With Patnaik, sans the BJP, bagging 14 of the 21 Lok Sabha seats and 103 of the 147 assembly berths, it is clear that the only factor that worked in Orissa was Patnaik’s clean image and his courage to go it alone.
Beginning of a New Political Chapter
The third consecutive coronation of Naveen Patnaik as the Chief Minister of Orissa marks the beginning of a new political chapter in the history of the coastal state.
For the 12-year-old Biju Janata Dal (BJD), it is indeed a watershed -- one that few could have predicted until a month ago, given the party’s bitter parting with coalition partner, the BJP, and the latter’s vicious poll campaign that prided in accusing Patnaik of betrayals.
Ten years back when Naveen Panaik became Orissa’s Chief Minister, he was new to politics, considered immature and suffered from a handicap; he could not converse in Oriya. But he picked up the ropes fast, matured politically and proved smarter than the BLP leaders, his ally for the last 11 years. He dropped a bombshell when an emissary of L.K. Advani met him in March and was tersely told that BJD could not offer more than 31 Assembly and five Lok Sabha seats to the BJP.
Naveen did not lose his composure even for a moment while telling Advani’s emissary that the alliance with the BJP was over. The BJP leaders, who thought Naveen to be their most dependable ally, were shocked and changed their tunes, calling him a “serial killer” and “betrayer”. The BJP’s harsh words notwithstanding, there is a grudging admiration for the BJD Chief in the BJP circles. He is seen as a smarter politician compared with much senior ones in the BJP. More important, people see him as a clean politician, who is striving to end corruption.
That the campaign boomeranged is history, with the BJP now reduced to near nothingness in a State where it enjoyed a considerable clout over 11 years of coalition rule with the BJD.
Naveen Patnaik is known to be politically shrewd. However, some of his colleagues did not quite appreciate his parleys with CPM General Secretary Prakash Karat in the run-up to the elections and his inclination towards the nebulous Third Front. The people have indeed shown the door to Mr Karat and his style of politics.
Now that Manmohan Singh has taken over as Prime Minister for the second term, Naveen Patnaik would do well to extend all possible support to the Government at the Centre and pursue constructive politics in the larger interest of the State.
No comments:
Post a Comment