The Congress has been decimated under the juggernaut of Biju Janata Dal led by Naveen Patnaik. The BJD improved its tally, got 117 MLAs in the 147-member Assembly and 20 of 21 Lok Sabha seats from the state. Your party could manage to get only 16 Assembly seats and could not even open its account in the Lok Sabha. How will you be able to play the role of an effective Opposition in the state?

(A long pause) Number is required to form a government. But to be an effective Opposition, the number hardly matters. If the members have the required commitment to achieve their goals, even with a smaller number, they can efficiently play the role of an effective Opposition.

The Congress had campaigned vigorously against BJD chief Naveen Patnaik during the elections. What happened? Why did you fail so miserably?

We failed to gain the confidence of people. We have to introspect.... and we will do that it in future.

The Congress has been out of power for the past 14 years. Wasn’t that enough time to introspect and take corrective measures?

It is really unfortunate that having lost successive elections, we have not tried to introspect and find out what is wrong with us ... and why people have rejected the party.

Several leaders, including former minister and your Berhampur Lok Sabha candidate Chandra Sekhar Sahu, have gone on record, saying that they did not receive adequate support from the party during the elections — which led to the debacle. How do you respond?

At the moment, I would not like to speak out my mind about the internal affairs of the party. The Congress stands for socialism and its commitment towards uplift of poor, downtrodden, farmers and youth are well known. Yet, we fail in successive elections. Obviously, we have committed mistakes in executing our policies and programmes. Commitment in pen and papers to certain ideology is not enough to win hearts of the people. Policies and programmes have to be executed properly and people must realise that the party is working for their welfare. Then only one can gain the confidence of the people.

A number of leaders have attributed internal squabbling among senior leaders in the Congress before the elections to the party’s debacle. Do you agree with this view?

I have already made it clear that I will not make any statement related to the internal affairs of the party in public.

It seems that the Congress lost the elections because the BJP made deep inroads into the Congress vote bank. The BJP’s vote share has gone up. While the Congress finished second in 75 Assembly constituencies, the BJP was runners-up in 35 Assembly segments this time. Time may come when the Congress could be relegated to the third position. What’s your take?

I consider the BJP as a communal force and its main aim is to divide the country and destroy the nation. I must thank the people of Odisha and also the BJD under the leadership of Naveen Patnaik that they have successfully prevented the communal force from entering the state. Let me make it clear that I feel sorry that my party has lost the elections, because we could not expose the corrupt and inefficient government (of Naveen Patnaik). But, I am also happy that anti-secular forces have failed in this direction.

But we need a straight answer from you. Has the BJP checked the growth of the Congress in the state?

I don’t agree with the view that the BJP has established supremacy over the Congress in Odisha.

The entire Opposition appears to be demoralised. No one believes that the Naveen Patnaik-led BJD can be defeated in an election. Is Naveen invincible?

Whoever wins an election always appears to be invincible... The impression becomes stronger when a leader wins successive elections. If the Opposition works with unity and determination, it can come back to power. In 1990, the Congress had got only 10 seats in the Assembly, but it bounced back to power in 1995 by dislodging the mighty Biju Babu. This time the Congress has 16 MLAs...... (Smiles).

In 2004, you were the deputy leader of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP). After a short gap, you will be back in the Assembly. How do you feel now?

Every politician, who believes in parliamentary democracy, will be happy either to be in the Assembly or in the Lok Sabha to serve people better and also be an active participant in legislation making process. Naturally, I am happy that I am back in the Assembly. In my humble way, I will be of some help in enacting beneficial legislations for the state and serve my master— that is the people.

You have been the deputy leader of the CLP. You are a natural claimant to lead the party in the Assembly as the leader of Opposition. But, there is a section within the Congress, which seems to be opposed to the idea of the party being led by you in the Assembly.

If a person has the determination and political will to serve the people, occupying a post is not always necessary to achieve the goal. Legislators elect leader of a legislature party for its effective and collective functioning inside the Assembly and not for personal gains.

You have worked with Biju Patnaik (as a minister) and former chief minister and Assam governor J.B. Patnaik (as deputy leader of the Congress party). You have seen Naveen from close quarters in the Assembly. How do you measure the three leaders?

Both Biju babu and J.B. Patnaik were outstanding leaders in their respective fields. Odisha should be proud of them. I would not like to compare Naveen babu with them.

Making such a comparison will amount to showing disrespect to Biju babu and J.B. Patnaik. Naveen babu will be remembered for having won successive elections in a row, but I don’t think he has been able to provide an effective and functional government in the state. In spite of heavy inflow of funds from the central government, Odisha remains one of the poorest states. Even government statistics say that 57 per cent of the people spend Rs 12 a day in the state. What a shame!

But people have still reposed their faith in Naveen again and again ....

(Pause) Naveen babu has come to power consecutively for the fourth term in a row not for his government’s achievements. It’s because of the failure of the Opposition in exposing the misdeeds of his government.

There was a wave in favour of BJD. How did you win the election by defeating BJD stalwart A.U. Singh Deo in Balangir?

I contested for the first time from the Balangir Assembly seat. Because of lack of development, people voted for a change and they have given me an opportunity to serve them. Local people have given a mandate for the development of the area. Irrigation facilities in the area are available only for 3 per cent of land. Unless it is improved, economy of the district is doomed. The district is also backward in education and health sectors. There is absolutely no scope of employment for the educated youth. Highest numbers of labourers migrate from the district to outside the state in search of employment. In spite of my failure in fulfilling the their dreams in the past, they have imposed their confidence on me again to tackle their problems.

Balangir district is facing a plethora of problems. What are the major issues that you are going to take up?

When I was the chairman of the Western Odisha Development Council, a decision was taken for establishment of a medical college in Balangir in 1999. The then government provided 40 acres and issued no-objection certificate for the proposed medical college. Construction of the college started on a war footing. In 2000, the Naveen government came to power and construction of the medical college was stopped. For 14 long years, no step has been taken in this regard.

Finally, the central government has decided to establish a medical college in Balangir. I have played a major role in it. People of Balangir are aware of my efforts. Keeping this in mind, people have given me another opportunity so that their dreams — be it having a permanent bench of Orissa High Court or completion of irrigation projects or establishment of a railway wagon project at Kantabanjhi could be fulfilled.

I am committed to fulfil the dreams of people of Balangir.