Case against Jay

Former minister and BJP veteran Jay Narayan Mishra’s brushes with the law continue, the latest being a case against him following an altercation with Burla police station officer in-charge during the visit of Union water resources minister Uma Bharti to Hirakud dam. But the party has once again jumped to his defence pointing accusing fingers at the state government. State BJP leaders portrayed the incident as a deliberate attempt by the Naveen Patnaik government to humiliate senior BJP leaders. One of its spokespersons put the blame squarely at the doorstep of chief minister’s office saying that it has been encouraging police officials to misbehave with BJP leaders. 

Ego battle 

The battle of egos between state Congress president Prasad Harichandan and former Kalahandi MP Bhakta Charan Das is far from over. The two had earlier clashed over the appointment of Kalahandi district unit president of the party and then patched up under pressure from the high command. Everyone who thought they had buried the hatchet for good but were wrong. Their mutual rancour was on display at an event organised at the Congress Bhavan earlier this week. Sources said, much to the discomfiture of the assembled gathering, the two leaders engaged in a spat on the dais with a functionary of All-India Congress Committee trying to calm them down. The incident is still being discussed within the party circles.

Debi breather

Senior minister Debi Prasad Mishra, who handles the twin portfolios of school and mass education and industries, was in all kinds of trouble till a few weeks ago with teachers hitting the streets. They even sought to surround his residence. Mishra, said sources, was fed up as the teachers appeared to be implacable and their demands endless. However, right when things started turning too gloomy, the industries portfolio came to his rescue. He got a much-needed breather with a trip to Israel to woo investments. Irrespective of what the outcome of the visit was, the change of scene was good for the minister who must need to get his batteries re-charged.

Tech savvy

Appearances can be deceptive. Newly-anointed state BJP president Basant Panda, who is invariably clad in saffron kurta-pyjama, gives the impression of being old fashioned. But he is not. In fact, he has emerged as one of the smartest leaders of the party who has been making good use of technology to connect with the masses. As the BJP and BJD are engaged in a poster war ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the state on February 6, Panda used the mobile phone to reach out to people. Hundreds of people were pleasantly surprised to receive calls with his recorded message seeking support to make the PM visit a success.

Ananta  desires 

There is no denying the political ambitions of Bhubaneswar mayor Ananta Narayan Jena. The man, who failed to bag an MLA ticket last time, is working overtime to please chief minister Naveen Patnaik. Many were surprised when he, instead of any BJD MLA from the capital city, took the lead in lodging a police complaint about the chief minister’s posters being torn ahead of Modi’s visit to Odisha. Sources said the chief minister was suitably pleased. He has also been impressed by Jena’s contribution in making Bhubaneswar top the list of smart cities declared by the Centre recently for the implementation of the first stage of the project. 

FOOTNOTE

Bishnu sulks

If BJD sources are to be believed, former Jagatsinghpur MLA Bishnu Das is sulking at chief minister Naveen Patnaik entrusting his arch rival and excise minister Damodar Rout with the entire responsibility for making arrangements in Paradip for Prime Minister’s visit to the industrial hub on February 7. Since Das also hails from the same district, he had hoped that chief minister would assign him some important task in connection with the visit so that he would also be in the limelight. But now it seems Rout would walk away with all the credit if he manages to keep the BJD and chief minister in focus during the Prime Minister’s programme, which the BJP seems keen on hijacking.