We saw the unexpected rise of the BJP in the recently concluded three-tier panchayat elections. Do you see this as alarming? How do you interpret this?

The result of zila parishad elections will have no impact on the general elections. It has been repeatedly established that panchayat polls don't influence Assembly or parliamentary elections. The less-than-satisfactory result of our party was because of the total dislocation of Congress and its vote bank getting diverted to the BJP out of people's anger. This is the first time that the BJP has seen an increase in its zila parishad seats, but the total votes polled by the BJD was more than 55 per cent whereas that of the BJP was not more than 30 per cent. The increase in the BJP's seats does not indicate any loss in the popularity of the Naveen Patnaik government.

Not only has the BJP entered the coastal belt, it has finally reached your bastion...

In my constituency, the BJP has won only two zila parishad seats. Out of 28 gram panchayats in my area, the BJP has got only two sarapanchs, while the BJD has 18 and the Congress eight. But the Congress sarpanchs are also divided into groups.

Do you think that chief minister Naveen Patnaik's decision not to campaign in this panchayat poll cost the party?

Partly true. It had a direct impact on the results. But people have still reposed their faith in him and appreciated the government because of its work in rural development.

The BJD has completed 17 years now. But without Naveen babu leading from the front, the party still cannot move a single step ahead...

I don't agree with that. No doubt, in a regional party, the party supremo enjoys overall power and confidence of the people.

Take the example of regional leaders like Mamata Banerjee, DMK leader Karunanidhi or the late Jayalalitha. At the grassroots and middle-level, local leaders play a major role and help keep the popularity of their leader intact.

It is only when local leaders and legislators commit mistakes and invite the voters' ire, things go wrong like it happened in the panchayat poll. But don't jump to a conclusion that it will impact the general elections.

It never happens because the party supremo would put up new faces in place of unpopular legislators.

Don't you think the Mahanadi water dispute issue failed to generate the public opinion in the BJD's favour in the rural polls?

I feel that the Mahanadi issue could not be placed properly before the people of Odisha. But in my constituency, common people have expressed their resentment against the BJP government in Chhattisgarh and disapproved Narendra Modi's soft attitude towards that state.

The way the Chhattisgarh government is going ahead with the construction of barrages in the Mahanadi upstream will have repercussions on the lives and livelihood of thousands of people in Odisha. The entire ecosystem will be disturbed.

Remember, the Mahanadi issue should not be judged on the political ground and politicised. The BJD will continue to raise the issue keeping the people's interest in mind.

Perhaps, the BJP has got significant success because of the aggressive role of Union petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan...

I am surprised at how the BJP is projecting a person who was rejected by his homeland and elected to the Rajya Sabha from another state.

Now, he is trying to strengthen the party from the Paradip oil refinery's ill-gotten money. Narendra Modi and Pradhan have made the refinery project a party affair. It was Atal Bihari Vajpayee who had laid the foundation stone for the project.

There was a huge gathering at that time and without party flags. I must mention here that it was Biju babu who had proposed the refinery towards the end of 1984. But Odisha's youth are yet to benefit out of it.

After the BJD's lacklustre performance in the rural polls, everyone must be feeling the absence of Pyari Mohan Mohapatra (who used to manage polls for the BJD). There is a noticeable void...

Why should we feel his absence? Pyari babu had posed himself as the second power centre in the BJD and severely damaged the party's internal democracy as well as the unity and cordiality in a regional party like ours. Therefore, it cannot be said that he was beneficial to the party.

Is there internal democracy in the party now?

The damage caused by Pyari babu has not been repaired yet. Somebody is playing the same role (organising party affairs for the party president).

Last year, you were criticised for organising a parallel function to commemorate Biju babu's birth anniversary. This year, you successfully roped in Naveen Patnaik for the same function...

The image and memory of legendary leaders are not confined to a group or the party named after him.

People of Paradip cherish the memory of Biju babu . This year, we also invited people who had seen him, worked under him like senior Congress leader Niranjan Patnaik, former diplomat and ambassador Abasar Beuria, former minister Prafulla Ghadei, MP and editor Bhartruhari Mahatab and former Utkal University of Culture vice-chancellor Bimalendu Mohanty. Earlier, people of Paradip had installed Biju babu's statue and this year, they have erected an 18m high pillar in his memory.

Naveen babu must have been very happy with you...

Ans I don't know what impression he carried from that meeting. But I presume he must have felt happy seeing how we marked Biju babu's birthday and birth centenary week in a unique way.

Being a seasoned politician and having witnessed politics over the years, what's your observation regarding the meeting between Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar and Naveen Patnaik?

Nitish Kumar and JDU leader Sharad Yadav had come to pay their last respects to former Lok Sabha Speaker Rabi Ray. It was just a courtesy call on Naveen babu.

It should not be construed otherwise. It was just the media's imagination. Of course, the leaders might have exchanged thoughts on various political issues at the national level.