Sweet memories

If sources in the Assembly are to be believed, sweets were distributed during the filing of nominations by the three BJD candidates for the Rajya Sabha last week. Though all the three candidates — Prasanna Acharya, Bishnu Das and N. Bhaskar Rao — were in a celebratory mood, it is not clear as yet who brought the sweets. However, this brought back memories of a similar celebration when young Congress MLA from Salepur Prakash Behera was blessed with a son. “That was on a much larger scale with each member of the Assembly staff gorging on succulent Salepur rasogollas. This one can’t be compared with that. But sweets, being sweets, are always welcome,” said someone, who had some on nomination day. 

Daddy’s friend

The recent meeting with nonagenarian Dibakar Patnaik, a long-time aide of the late Biju Patnaik, was an emotional moment for chief minister Naveen Patnaik. In a Facebook post, Naveen noted that Dibakar babu, now 95, had taken pains to travel to Bhubaneswar all the way from Deogarh just to meet him. 

“He shared with me his experience with Biju babu and a photograph that brought back fond memories. I was particularly moved by Dibakar babu offering me sweets and asked for his blessings. The good words he had for the government and our initiatives reassured me. His appreciation will spur me to work harder for an empowered Odisha,” said the chief minister.

Online attack

All kinds of people get trolled on the Internet, Naveen Patnaik, who now has official Facebook and Twitter accounts, being no exception. The comments to his Facebook posts have, sometimes, been uncharitable to say the least. For example, this one in response to his resolve to work harder for an empowered Odisha: “Look who is talking about empowerment. You have only one skill and that is how to buy votes. You are making a fool of the uneducated Odia people,” wrote this critic and then went on to suggest that the bachelor chief minister should adopt someone to succeed him after his death. “Because you won’t leave the CM chair till your death, we know. Nabin_Hatao_Odisha_Bachao,” the critic signed off.

Modi message

The use of recorded voice messages as a campaign tool during elections is nothing new. But now, BJP leaders are also using them to motivate people ahead of visits by political VIPs, such as the Prime Minister. 

A large number of people received one such pre-recorded message on their mobile phones ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Balasore on Thursday. 

The message was from Murali Sharma who had been suspended from the party three years ago along with some others for alleged anti-party activities. 

His suspension order was withdrawn only last month and ever since, he has been trying hard to get into the good books of the leadership of the party.  

Mending fences 

Congress’s Bhawanipatna rally on Friday has helped patch-up differences between Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president Prasad Harichandan and former Union minister Bhakta Charan Das, who hails from Kalahandi district. 
Sources said the two leaders, who in the recent past had clashed over a number of issues including the appointment of Kalahandi unit president of the party, put their heads together to work out the strategy for the success of the rally that drew a decent crowd. 

Kalahandi being a crucial district from Congress’s point of view, Harichandan, too, is reported to have set his ego aside and mended fences with Das, one of the most prominent Dalit leaders of the party in the state. 

FOOTNOTE

Going extra mile 

Fired by the ambition of landing a BJD ticket for the Assembly from Bhubaneswar, mayor Ananta Narayan Jena is going the extra mile to ensure that residents of his city get what they want. From inauguration of parks to distribution of revolving funds among self-help groups, he is doing everything possible within his reach to win the hearts of the capital’s people. One of his focus areas, and with good reason, is regular interaction with slum-dwellers, the most recent one having taken place at Khala Basti in Unit-8 where he discussed a variety of issues with senior citizens. 

“He is making sure that he remains popular till the next election arrives as he will be a stronger contender for a BJD ticket from Bhubaneswar,” said a BJD insider.