Kandhamal may be breaking point for BJD, BJP

An indication of the party8217;s gameplan for the coming polls came to the fore on Sunday when leaders ranging from national president Rajnath Singh to state president Suresh Pujari slammed the state Government over the 8220;failure of the police in tracking down the killers of Laxmanananda, issue of proselytisation and the arrest of innocent tribals in Kandhamal8221;.

8220;The police have failed in finding the killers while innocent tribals are being arrested on charges of rioting. We would not be a mute spectator to this exercise,8221; said party president Suresh Pujari while addressing the poll meeting attended by all party ministers, MPs, MLAs, Zilla Parishad chairpersons, panchayat samiti members and representative of various civic bodies.

Sunday8217;s Vijay Sankalp Samavesh rally addressed by party president Rajnath Singh also brought out the party8217;s growing nervousness and anger against Naveen Patnaik who is slowly distancing himself from the saffron partner. Some of Naveen8217;s decisions, including a package for tribals in Kandhamal and allowing Christian NGOs to distribute relief to the riot victims, did not go down well with the BJP.

Naveen also put the saffron party in a fix by offering it the Phulbani Lok Sabha constituency, which was in BJD8217;s kitty, in lieu of leaving seven of its Assembly seats for its partner. In the 147 Assembly constituencies in Orissa, the BJD and the BJP have fought 84 and 63 seats respectively during the past two Assembly polls. 8220;If we take the Phulbani seat then the BJD would have 91 seats to contest while we would be reduced to contesting only 56 seats. In the scenario of the BJD winning about 70 seats, Naveen can form a government minus the BJP with a little help from some independents. It could prove politically suicidal for us,8221; said a senior BJP leader.

The Chief Minister who has been at the receiving end of the diatribe by the VHP and the Bajrang Dal for showing 8220;undue sympathy8221; to Christians told a TV channel that the Bajrang Dal was a fundamentalist organisation.

Naveen also caught the BJP off-guard after he started his electoral campaign from tribal-dominated Koraput district all alone. Quick to realise Naveen8217;s strategy of trying to keep his secular image intact in the aftermath of Kandhamal riots, the party is now going all out to put pressure on the Government to strictly enforce the provisions of the Orissa Freedom of Religion Act and Orissa Cow-Slaughter Prohibition Act, both of which were passed at least four decades ago, but have hardly been invoked.

Several BJP leaders say that the party has to continue with its aggressive stance over Kandhamal and highlight the ordeal of Kondh tribals at the hands of the CRPF and Orissa police, while keeping the issue of the murder of Laxmanananda alive in the minds of Hindu voters. 8220;Despite what the Government claims, the regular gherao of police stations in Kandhamal by aggrieved tribal women shows that not everything is fine. The tribals are still angry,8221; said a BJP MP.

In spite of its attempts to whip up public sentiments over Kandhamal, the BJP is not sure of its impact. Though the Sangh Parivar is well-networked in the state through its subsidiary organisations like the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Vanavasi Kalyan Ashrams, the BJP ministers have zero credibility among the people as well as the cadres as the party.

Despite all his failings and lack of administrative abilities, Naveen has a far better image than any BJP leader of Orissa, which the party finding hard to ignore.