You are considered the No. 1 disciple of J.B. Patnaik...

What I am today is because of JB's blessings. There are no two opinions about it. Not only me, those who are considered frontline leaders of the state Congress at present have been JB's followers. Some may disagree, but I know that it is because of JB's blessings that many of them have been able to carve out a niche for themselves in the state politics. JB's demise has created a vacuum that will be difficult to fill.

JB is not there to protect you any more. What are your plans for the future?

We have learnt a lot from JB on how to go ahead taking the younger generations with us. Because of our hard work over the years, we have also been able to create a support base. We will go ahead and carry forward the message of the Congress to people. I have started working in this direction. But the need of the hour is a co-ordinated effort to revive the party.

After JB's demise, the race has already begun among the leaders to occupy that space.

There is no competition at all. No one is able to fill up the space created following JB's death. He had the quality to take everyone, even his worst critics, with him, and carry on the party's work. I had toured with him to every nook and corner of the state. To the best of my knowledge, I know he was the only Congress leader who knew and every panchayat in the state. He personally knew at least 10 people by their names in each panchayat. Can you name any politician who has that kind of grip?

You are repeatedly saying that no one can fill up the space of JB. What is the future of the state Congress without him? Can it be revived?

The party can be revived only if the present leadership takes everyone into account, right down to the block and panchayat levels. Accordingly, a strategy should be developed. The present PCC chief Prasad Harichandan is also working in this regard and has kept an eye on the coming panchayat elections. One should remember that after Biju babu's demise, every one had the impression that the Janata Dal would be finished. Sitting in the treasury benches, we had a similar impression. The Janata Dal was divided into four groups and there was serious infighting. No one had thought the Janata Dal would be revived again. But it came in a new form (Biju Janata Dal) and has been successful in defeating the Congress and other parties. Anything can happen in politics. Just be patient.

The Janata Dal revived because of the entry of Biju's son Naveen. Do you think that JB's son Pruthi should make an entry into politics?

That is a personal decision. Bapuni (Pruthi) and his family have to take a call on this matter. He has not yet joined the Congress. We should leave him to take a decision. I should not comment on this matter.

There are many groups in the Congress that used to oppose JB. They were also critical of JB's family. Do you think JB's family members should enter politics?

JB had the capacity to keep everyone together. So any member of his family joining the Congress politics is always welcome. But it is they who will have to take that decision.

Do you think that Pruthi's entry into politics will benefit the state Congress that is fighting for its existence?

He has not yet entered politics. It's not possible to predict what will happen at the later stage. At this moment, it is premature to make any comments.

You are hoping that the Congress will be back on its feet despite the fact the party has almost been finished in the state. It has been facing successive defeats. How can it be revived?

According to me, all those who had been sidelined and expelled from the party should be taken back to the Congress fold. Earlier, I had raised the issue before the high command and had appealed for reconsideration of its decision. The party should rise above pretty factionalism. Besides, at the central level, some solid programmes should be initiated against the establishment, which would percolate to the state level and later penetrate to the district and village level. Some strong leadership is needed at this hour.

Do you think the Congress will be able to stage a comeback under Rahul Gandhi's leadership?

Over the past 15 days, we have seen a different Rahul who has determination and has started the fight against the establishment. He is going to the people and joining hands for their cause. If this continues, the Congress will certainly stage a comeback at the national as well as the state level. However, the state Congress should make village-specific programmes and accordingly do the groundwork.

Coming to students' politics, those you had built as students' leaders, have deserted you and your influence in youth politics has started waning.

Those who left the party had no patience at all. One must understand that in politics, you have to have a lot of patience. The party is not in power for the past 15 years. When they got small offers, they took them. But there is no dearth of talent in the state Congress. We will build another set of leaders. Those who had not got the opportunities will now get the chance to showcase their talent. I just want to tell those leaders that here, they had got the chance to remain in the front row of the party but there, they do not even get a chance to sit on the dais. If this is acceptable to them, I have nothing to say. In politics, one can come and go.

A section of people are pointing fingers at you in the case of throwing of eggs at chief minister's convoy in February.

The youth and student Congress sometimes chalk out their own independent action plans regarding opposing the establishment. But the way the government took it and started taking stern action against the youth activists is not desirable at all. It should be condemned. I had travelled with the JB for nearly 15 years and had seen how brutal attacks were made on his life at Athagarh and other parts of the state. But nowhere was JB vindictive. In Biju babu's regime, such an ugly situation had taken place at one of the meetings in Kalahandi. But Biju babu had not taken it seriously. One should be careful while dealing with youths and the students.

Some people are of the opinion that Congress has resorted to bad politics, particularly criminalisation of politics, to revive itself?

This is absolutely wrong. One cannot kill somebody by throwing an egg. You should not term this as criminalisation of politics. But the way the state government slapped serious charges against the student leaders is not correct according to democratic norms.

Earlier, the Congress had a dominant presence in Vani Vihar (Utkal University campus), but now the BJD is in control of the university affairs.

Last year we did not put up candidates in the students' union elections because we were busy with the general elections, students Congress and youth Congress elections. You wait for the next year!

It's almost been one year since the general elections. The Congress is witnessing a string of defeats in the each election. It lost even in the recent urban polls. What is the problem for which the Congress is losing one election after another?

The Congress workers are demoralised at this moment. One needs to give them self-confidence and make it clear that the leaderships is with them. In the general election, we lost because there was the party was not organising any activities. The leaders failed to reach out to the people. At the constituency level, the leaders also failed to establish direct contact with the people. In many cases, deserving candidates did not get party tickets. There are many reasons.

Internal squabbles among leaders was cited as major reason for the failure of the party.

I do not want to go to into the details of that. Now the time has come to think of the revival of the party.

How is your relationship with the former PCC president Jaydev Jena and former Union minister Srikant Jena, who were managing the elections ?

The same as I always had.