Like JD like BJD

Everything appeared to be smooth until the Assembly by-elections in May where the BJD suffered a setback, followed by the humiliating defeat of its candidate A.U. Singhdeo in the Rajya Sabha elections. The fiasco not only exposed the weakness of the BJD-BJP opposition, it also signalled the beginning of a revolt against the leadership of Patnaik, party president and Union steel and mines minister.

Patnaik, who till that point was the party8217;s brand name andmascot, was suddenly found to be a burden8217; by some of his colleagues. Open criticism of Patnaik8217;s style of functioning, his lack8217; of interest in strengthening the organisation, promotion of coterie rule8217; and political immaturity8217; brought the dissent within the party to the fore.

Hurt by the loss of face the BJD suffered in the Rajya Sabha polls and the charges of cross-voting, Patnaik dealt the first blow by suspending five MLAs for indiscipline. The suspension order was withdrawn after a fortnight following intervention by party MPs and assurance from the rebels that they would be bound by party discipline. That did not end the problem. Rather the opposite: It set in motion the race for supremacy between the two camps, led by Patnaik and and his principal rival Mohapatra.

Even before the conflict, the differences between Patnaik and Mohapatra had been public. They first fought over the issue of according special category status to Orissa by the A.B. Vajpayee Government. Mohapatra, the chairman ofparty8217;s political affairs committee, was peeved when Patnaik opposed his view that the BJD8217;s support to the Vajpayee Government was conditional and that the party would review its stand if the State was not given the special category status.

In fact, many party leaders supported Mohapatra on this issue as it was an item in the BJD8217;s election manifesto. Patnaik was accused of soft-pedalling the issue to keep the bosses8217; in New Delhi happy.

Mohapatra, known for his political savvy and organisational capabilities, found it hard to digest the fact that Patnaik was ignoring him on many issues and instead acting on the advice of his rivals 8212; Ram Krushna Patnaik, Prasanna Acharya and A.U.Singhdeo. Patnaik, a newcomer to politics, on the other hand, was careful enough to signal that Mohapatra was not driving from the back seat.

While the rebels led by Mohapatra were waiting for the right moment to strike at Patnaik, the party president8217;s followers were hatching plots to sideline the chairman of the politicalaffairs committee. As the rebels mounted their attack on Patnaik after successive poll debacles, he inducted four senior Janata Dal leaders 8212; Damodar Rout, Kalindi Charan Behera, Sarat Kumar Kar and Saharai Oram 8212; to checkmate Mohapatra8217;s influence in coastal Orissa. All the four were former ministers in the Biju Patnaik government and bitter rivals of Mohapatra.

The shadow boxing between Patnaik and Mohapatra intensified as the latter8217;s group objected to the induction of the JD leaders. One of the general secretaries of the party, Pradip Maharathy openly decried the decision of the president and demanded Patnaik8217;s resignation for not consulting party leaders before inducting them.

Party MP Prabhat Samantray too wrote a nasty letter to Patnaik and called him a 8220;person with devious mind8221; who is 8220;unable to deal with politically mature colleagues.8221; Protests followed from Bhratruhari Mahatab, Tathagata Satpathy, Prasanna Patsani, Bhagaban Majhi and Padmanav Behera, all MPs. The loyalists, however,maintain that the party leaders were, indeed, consulted before the four JD leaders were inducted.

Not to be outdone, the Patnaik loyalists, president of the party8217;s women8217;s wing Kamala Das and general secretaries of the BJD Balabhadra Majhi and Sarat Paikray demanded the suspension of Maharathy and Samantray.

While the war of attrition between the two sides continues, rivals Congress and Janata Dal are enjoying the ringside view. Both the parties are too happy to watch the gradual erosion of the BJD8217;s stock. Attacks on Patnaik in the on-going session of the Orissa Assembly are too frequent but none except Ram Krushna Patnaik has been found defending the president.

The regional party which was formed seven months ago with a promise to provide an alternative to the ruling Congress is haunted by the ghosts of its Janata Dal past. Since BJD leaders don8217;t seem to have learnt a lesson from the dissident days of the Janata Dal, the new regional party looks well on its way to the fate of its parentparty.

WHO8217;S WITH WHOM

Naveen Patnaik

R.K. Patnaik, leader of the opposition, A.U. Singhdeo, MLA, Prasanna Acharya MP and Kamala Das, MLA

Bijay Mahapatra

Pravat Samantaray, MP, Bhartruhari Mahatab, MP and editor of Prajatantra, Tathagat Satpathy, MP and editor of Dharitri, Bijoyshree Routray, MLA, Kalpataru Das, MLA, and Pravat Tripathy, MLA

Union Coal Minister Dilip Ray is maintaining equi-distance from both groups.

R.K. Patnaik earlier supported Mahapatra on the demand of special category status but later became closer to Patnaik who has been consulting him on all important issues.