How do you visualise your party’s prospects in the forthcoming elections?

Congress will certainly fare better this time compared to the 2009 Assembly polls. I am sure our party will be able to perform well in Ganjam district, which was once considered the home turf of Naveen Patnaik. You have to wait patiently till May 16 as the fate of the candidates are sealed in the EVMs.

Are you hopeful of the Congress coming to power this time?

I am not an astrologer. But the Congress has missed a golden opportunity to derive maximum benefit from this election. There is a palpable anger and resentment against the Naveen Patnaik government for its failure in bringing any change in the life of the common man. Had we been more organised, we would have certainly got a surprising result this time. In my view, we have not been able to take advantage of the ground realities.

You are one of the most senior leaders of the party. Can you specify what exactly went wrong with the Congress this time?

Just before the elections, the leaders in the party started indulging in petty politics and infighting instead of trying to give a common fight and send a message to the people that they are united. To my knowledge, it did not go well with the party rank and file. The Congress is a party of workers and not leaders. The leaders failed to understand it. Instead of working to give a boost to the party, they were busy otherwise.

How did the dissension and infighting at the state leadership affect the party's prospects in Ganjam? In the last elections, the party had lost both the Lok Sabha seats (Sahu had lost to Sidhant Mohapatra of BJD in Berhampur and could win one of the 13 Assembly seats in the district).

While the state of affairs of the party is different in other districts, the party remained united in Ganjam. We were able to give a strong fight to the BJD because we were united. The results will speak. Just wait and you will see the results and be surprised. Our efforts here in the district will also have an impact in other parts of south Odisha.

Do you think the Congress is going to pay a heavy price for the growing dissension in the party?

There is dissension everywhere. Dissension has already surfaced in the BJD. Senior BJD leaders Prafulla Ghadei and Kalindi Charan Behera are expressing their resentment against the working style of their leadership. The same is the case with the Congress. Our party has a long history (129-year-old). It has faced many crises and the present dissension in the state will have no bearing in the long run. Congress being a democratic party, there is bound to be differences of opinion. However, such differences should not reach a level where the party workers get affected. In the past, we have seen huge differences between leaders such as J.B. Patnaik and Basant Biswal. But whenever elections came, they were united to strengthen the party.

What strategy, according to you, should have been adopted by the Congress have to perform better?

The Election Campaign Committee chairman should not have been made a candidate. As Srikant Jena (the lone central minister from the state) was contesting from the Balasore Lok Sabha seat, he did not have time to go for an extensive campaign of the state. I have no personal grudge against Jena. Congress should have chalked out a proper campaign strategy. Senior leaders and star campaigners of the party should have been asked to concentrate more on the campaign. Such people should not have contested the elections and should have been compensated with party or government posts later. But, it did not happen.

Why did not you bring this to the notice of the party high command?

I have already shared my feelings with Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi.

Do you think that Rahul had failed to respond to your suggestion?

I am a disciplined soldier of the party. Don’t put any words in my mouth. I will not make any comment on the party high command.

Apart from the failure on the campaign front, what are the other contributory factors to the party's not so strong performance?

There was complete mismanagement in the entire election process. The UPA government has introduced a number of welfare schemes for the benefit of the common man. But till the last moment, we did not get a poster and banner highlighting the achievements of the Congress led Government at the Centre. Even the candidates did not get a poster or a banner carrying the photographs of Soniaji and Rahulji. What more can I say?

What about funding from the All India Congress Committee (AICC) for the elections?

I have already said that there was complete mismanagement by our party in the entire election process. Earlier, an AICC representative would come and give funds to the candidates. This time, I do not know about other candidates. But, I can say that I have not received any fund from the party.

It must have been quite difficult for you to raise funds. How did you manage then?

Once you are in the fray, you have to fight. You have to face the adverse situation courageously. My well-wishers have helped me a lot.

You begun your career in politics from the local civic body. You were elected the chairman of Berhampur Municipality twice. Now, the municipality has attained the status of a corporation. What changes have you noticed in the city over the years?

There has been no visible change. Only the signboard of the urban body has been replaced. The roads continue to be in poor shape. We had a vision to make a greater Berhampur by including Gopalpur and Chhatrapur. This has not been done. There was a proposal for a by-pass road for the Berhampur town to ease traffic congestion. This, also, is yet to materialise.

Besides the mining scam, what are the other issues that the Congress party should have raised particularly in south Odisha to confront the BJD ?

When P.V. Narasimha Rao was the prime minister, a foundation stone was laid here for a proposed steel plant by the Tatas. About 5,000 acres of land were acquired for the project. However, the state government has failed to exert pressure on the Tatas to set up the plant. If the Tatas were not ready, the government should have brought other companies for the project.

On the eve of elections, several leaders, including Ramkrushna Patnaik and others, deserted the party. How will the exodus impact in Ganjam politics?

Not at all. Not a single Congressman has left the party. Only those, who had come from other parties, have left. (Ramakrushna Patnaik, a close associate of Biju Patnaik, had left the BJD and joined the Congress. Before the elections, he quit the Congress and joined the BJP)

Is there a Modi wave in this election?

I don’t see any, at least in Ganjam district. Modi may have an appeal for a section of the youth, but it’s a limited one. It will not have any effect in the electoral battle here. The fight is essentially between the Congress and the BJD.

Voice of south

• Chandra Sekhar Sahu has risen from the ranks. He has worked at the grassroots level of the party

• He shot into limelight when he was made a minister in the UPA-I government at the Centre

• He is known for his simplicity and for being accessible to people

• After completing his matriculation from K.C. Higher Secondary School, he did his graduation in science from Khallikote College

• He stepped into politics when he was elected as the students’ union general secretary in 1969 and its president in 1972

• He was elected the chairperson of the Berhampur Municipality in 1984 and then again in 1992

• He was elected to the Lok Sabha in 2004

• Despite being a first timer, the party gave him the job of a minister of state in the Manmohan Singh government between 2004 and 2009

• In the last elections, he had lost to cine star Sidhhant Mohapatra of the BJD

What would you have been if you had not been a politician?

I had dreamt of becoming a doctor. I did my graduation in science. But God had planned other things for me. I contested the election in my college days. Later, I slowly entered into mainstream politics. Since then, I have not turned back.