Schoolchildren on a visit to the General Post Office in Bhubaneswar. Picture by Sanjib Mukherjee

The Congress in Odisha has often been ridiculed as the ‘B team’ of ruling Biju Janata Dal because of its perceived reluctance to take on chief minister Naveen Patnaik.

The perception, however, has begun to change, of late, thanks mainly to Union minister, Srikant Jena, who has been skewering the chief minister on a range of issues.

The last round between them was fought on the issue of fertiliser scarcity in Odisha for which Jena promptly put the blame on the state government accusing it of failing to act against the hoarders.

Their latest spat over the allotment of coal blocks has also generated a lot of heat with the Union minister, who represents the Balasore Lok Sabha seat in the Parliament, taking potshots at Naveen for speaking on the issue with a forked tongue and showing favours to big corporate houses.

Forgotten lot

The NCP MLAs who joined the Biju Janata Dal in the wake of the failed coup attempt against chief minister Naveen Patnaik have been sorely disappointed.

Led by Amar Prasad Satpathy they had jumped onto the BJD bandwagon lock, stock and barrel in the hope that Naveen would pick at least one of the four of them for inclusion in the ministry.

That, according to sources close to them, would have been a just reward for their floor-crossing act, which came at a time when the BJD was desperate to boost its tally in the state Assembly, if only to tell the world that the rebellion of May 29 was unlikely have any impact on its government.

However, his purpose having been served with their defection, the chief minister promptly forgot them. That’s what politics is all about.

Grabbing eyeballs

Odisha as a state may lag behind in exploiting its tourism potential, but Kendrapara MP Baijayant ‘Jay’ Panda has brought the natural beauty of his constituency with its wide range of flora and fauna into national focus.

The two-day photo exhibition on the tourism potential of Kendrapara, organised at New Delhi’s Constitution Club with his initiative recently, drew many eyeballs.

The visitors included BJP leader L.K. Advani, Union tribal welfare minister V. Kishore Chandra Deo, former Union minister Rajiv Pratap Ruddy, Renuka Chaudary, and MP Sandeep Dixit.

While BJD MPs such as Shashi Bhushan Behera and Dilip Tirkey were there, Odisha’s minister of state for food supplies and consumer welfare Pratap Deb, who hails from Kendrapada, also marked his presence.

Cabinet dreams

With Pushpendra Singhdeo out and A.U. Singhdeo yet to make a comeback, Balangir and Kalahandi, which together constitute Odisha’s infamous hunger zone, have gone unrepresented in the Naveen Patnaik ministry for the first time.

Though sources close to the chief minister have sought to justify the exclusion of both the leaders, who had become embroiled in controversies, there is no denying that a comparison between Pushpendra and A.U. Singhdeo, the latter a veteran of several decades in politics, would be unfair.

The only consolation for A.U. Singhdeo, the scion of Balangir royal family, is that his son, Kalikesh continues to do well as a BJD MP.

There are also rumours that he is planning to bring his younger son Manmath into politics. But none of this would compensate for the loss of face he suffered when he was dropped from the ministry in the wake of an alleged hooch tragedy.

For him the only way that his honour can be restored is by making a comeback into the cabinet.

Doubtful ouster

Former school and mass education minister Pratap Jena is still unable to figure out why the chief minister dumped him.

His axing from the ministry was just as unexpected as that of former finance minister Prafulla Ghadei, who is trying hard to get over the shock.

Jena had neither done badly as a minister nor could he be accused of hobnobbing with the alleged plotters of the May 29 coup attempt.

In fact, some of the new faces inducted in the ministry were closer than Jena to Rajya Sabha member Pyari Mohan Mohapatra, the alleged leader of the failed coup.

Baffled political observers are now trying to link Jena’s ouster to his one time closeness to former union minister Dilip Ray, but that seems too far-fetched.

No wonder political pundits find it hard to read the moves of Naveen Patnaik.

Ashutosh Mishra

Footnote

Worst critic

Congress dissidents are not only targeting state unit president, they also have leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh looming in the sight of their guns. Singh’s worst critic happens to be party’s Kantabanjhi MLA Santosh Singh Saluja, who does not believe in pulling his punches.

Last time that the dissidents made a trip to New Delhi, the sardar from western Odisha is said to have minced no words while criticising Bhupinder before the party’s central leaders.

The animosity between the two leaders, who not only hail from the same KBK region, but also come from the same sikh faith, is an open secret in Congress circles.

This has triggered allegations of Saluja being used by a section of party leaders to settle scores with Bhupinder, who is being wary about the moves of the rebels.