On birthday, Naveen Patnaik’s gift is a show of support from partymen as spectre of Pandian looms

This led to senior BJD leaders thronging the house to wish him and to reaffirm their commitment to remain in the party under his leadership.

Recently, six-time MLA and former Odisha minister Amar Prasad Satpathy had hit out at the party leadership, expressed displeasure over the functioning of the party, and decided not to renew his membership.

“I am no longer associated with the BJD. I felt suffocated in the organisation because of the prevailing atmosphere,” Satpathy had told reporters. In the recent Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, in which the BJD suffered a heavy defeat, he was denied a ticket.

The former Barchana MLA, who was a founding member of the BJD, also took a dig at Patnaik, saying that if he had been credited for the victory of the party in the past, he should also take responsibility for the defeat.

Days later, former Bhubaneswar MP Prasanna Patasani, who left BJD to join BJP in June, said Naveen Patnaik’s “popular government” was unseated because of V K Pandian, a former bureaucrat and Patnaik’s close confidant who was the main election strategist for the party.

The former five-time MP had said he was forced to quit the party because of Pandian, and that the latter continues to wield influence in the party.

Pandian, who is from Tamil Nadu, had announced his “withdrawal” from active politics following the BJD’s defeat. However, BJD insiders claim he continues to influence party decisions.

According to a BJD leader, signs of Pandian’s continued influence can be seen in decisions like the appointment of former corporate executive Santrupt Misra as Patnaik’s political secretary, and not conducting a review of the party’s election performance, as well as the public defence of Pandian by Patnaik.

“During district-level meetings, leaders openly voice their discontent over the way the party fought elections and managed its campaign strategy. Since Pandian and his coterie were singlehandedly driving the BJD’s campaign, all blame will go to him. Maybe this is the reason the party chose not to review its poll results,” the BJD leader said on condition of anonymity.

In the elections, the BJD failed to win a single Lok Sabha seat, and got only 51 seats in the 147-member legislative Assembly. After this, the BJP, which won 78 seats in the Assembly, formed its first government in the state.

Senior BJD leader and Rajya Sabha member Debashish Samantaray said, “Pandian was never our leader. Naveen Patnaik is our leader and the party remains strong under his leadership.”

Party leader Santrupt Misra said the party would not be affected by the departures. “People of Odisha will give them a befitting reply at the right time,” Misra told reporters in Cuttack.