By Biswaraj Patnaik in Puri, March 5, 2017 : Legendary leader Biju Patnaik was born on this day i.e March 5 and this day is celebrated as Panchayat Divas across the state. Ironically, the ruling Biju Janata Dal [BJD] in Odisha has experienced some good enough jolt in the recently concluded panchayat polls forcing the rogues to wake up and gain some quality sense. They have realised by now that monopoly degrades people rather than improve their ethical standards.

Take the example of the AIDMK in Tamilnadu, which had its share of blame and pain at a time when the Amma wave was blowing like mad. Unfortuantely, even after landing in jail for robbing public money, Sasikala is still a leader by some sycophantic cronies one of whom is now chief minister. Strangely, mad Amma followers who swooned at her sight, have not yet discarded the late woman as an enemy of the state. They still keep imagining Amma was ‘Saint’.

Chinnamma slave chief minister Palaniswami, takes orders from the ‘prison-cell lady’ to run Tamilnadu administration. Amma’s photos are hanging at all public establishments. The Supreme Court verdict says Amma was and Sasikala is public money robber. The once great Tamil community, known for their fantastic culture with the oldest language on Indian soil, has not once protested against ‘Amma photo display’. DMK, equally infamous for perpetual corruption, is only revelling over the AIDMK’s stupid deification of two female crooks- one in jail and the other not in bodily form anymore.

Movie craze is the prime driving force behind sending tinsel town creatures to the law making temples of India. Sasikala says she is Amma’s political inheritor. Amma’s niece has also claimed stake. Paneerselvam, the Amma-chosen one, is now garnering support from all possible sources to topple Sasikala’s gang in power. Believing her proxy regime is safe for now, Sasikala has started shifting attention to worry for about a mattress, a table-fan and ‘carnivore meals’, which the jail authorities cannot provide.

The Congress relatively free of movie-craze is likely to take the proverbial ‘monkey advantage’ as two stupid cats are fighting to attain self-serving objectives. The Apex Court is likely to take cognizance of the criminal act suo motu and pass orders against Amma photo display at public establishments. People of Tamilnadu have to wake up if the beautiful race is truly keen to remain as clean as in the ancient times. The Dravidians, incidentally, were superior to the Aryans in every respect except warfare. Today the lost glory has be regained- best by provoking the Apex Court. Amma picture has to go.

Odisha is unique in the sense that it’s being ruled by a magician CM called Naveen Patnaik who has already overshadowed the legendary Biju Patnaik under whose glory and political glamour BJD was created. The kids of the new millennium, just beginning to cast political votes, have no idea who exactly Biju Patnaik was. They recognise Naveen as the face of BJD that will complete ruling the state for two decades at a stretch since 2000 AD with rising popularity over time, unlike other regimes that keep losing steam due to the age old anti-incumbency phenomenon.

All the same, in the last Panchayat (rural self governance) elections, the BJP has come up with appreciable victory-good enough to give BJD strategists some sleepless nights. BJP says Modi factor did the wonder. But serious analysts are sure that the small debacle has happened due to the arrogant public conduct of some of the frontline BJD leaders in power. They make clear that some headless BJD biggies have abused authority to indulge in glaringly brazen nepotism or corrupt activities like in Kalahandi and Mayurbhanj. Sudan Marandi, once a core member of JMM, betrayed the mother party for personal gains and has so lost conclusively.

Mayurbhanj was fairly fine for BJP for quite some time. Disgust for Marandi forced people to tilt toward BJP. But some western and south states did shift choice – may be because of proximity to Chhattisgarh where the infectious BJP wind is blowing with remarkable strength. The BJP cadres, though not huge in number as projected, do attribute the success to the systematic organisational work in the last two years, which has roped in 3 million new members through a doubtful ‘missed-call’ technique.

They claim to have deployed ablest cadres at 35,000 of the 92000 booths during the panchayat elections; organised at least 50,000 meetings across the state and distributed 50000 leaflets at these meetings to bring to public notice how poor people were forced to pay bribe to benefit from the Indira Awas Yojana or old age allowance schemes.

The other fact they don’t share is that the Congress Party in Odisha is in deathbed as no credible leader has shown up to usher the party to light. Each big one is fighting the other at any point in time. Thus, there is no reason for BJP to revel at this little ‘rural victory’ which does not forecast doom for the BJD in the general elections which will witness stranger pictures and experience weird dynamics only because the callous urban masses will not come out to vote in good numbers as usual.

Further, ‘Naveen whipping’ would have occurred by then to reform nearly all the visible party crooks for which the disaster has happened now. Even further, money play will be at peak as the BJP is already a very wealthy party. Modi, Amit, Gadkari and many others know the skills of abusing money power to rob votes, although it will be a herculean task to bulldoze into the BJD fortress in 2019. It’s not untrue that Modi’s hyper-theatrical harangue and cheap rhetoric have started causing fatigue among the masses.

Naveen is a hundred times smarter by remaining reticent. Besides, there is no adorable BJP leader in Odisha to match Naveen, for good reasons or bad. Dharmendra Pradhan doesn’t even have an electoral base. Though outwardly polite, Pradhan aping and parroting Modi antics, is eroding his elevated stature. Basant Panda the state boss has just bitten dust in his own den (now cage). Kanak Vardhan is not assertively articulate. Most interestingly, Jual Oram is just not charismatic because he has ceased to be part of an aboriginal tribe. He lives like a prince but pretends to be a poor ‘forest hunter’.

Most importantly what BJP strategists don’t seem to realize is the fact that Naveen did not step out to campaign for the Panchayat polls like he did fifty assembly segments in 2012. This time he did one routinely only in his own Hinjili constituency. He did not even address any public rally- restricting only to simple roadshows in Hinjili and Seregarh blocks. The BJP had restlessly roped in Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh, Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das, former Jharkhand chief minister Arjun Munda, Union Ministers Ramkripal Yadav and of course Jual Oram and Dharmendra Pradhan to keep screaming for support. The BJP has risen from 36 in 2012 to some 297 now with all machinery, manpower and the works put aggressively in place. Dying Congress has been written off. No wonder, they gifted most of their 128 seats to BJP.

BJD leaders have blamed the chief ministers anonymously for not giving time for poll campaigns. The BJD leaders do not still realise that Naveen has proven them to be thoroughly useless. He has established the fact that without him, the BJD leaders would just be dropped like hot bricks and dumped in the garbage yard. Loud-mouths including Maharathy and Suryanarayan Patra keep weeping for Naveen never did a rushing job across sensitive locations.

Little do they realise that rural or any self governance election processes look ethically correct when no top leaders go dancing in public. Naveen has preserved his energy for the main drama. Shrewd politicians know how to react, when to talk, whom and when to suspect and with what weapon to strike the enemy for attaining conclusive victory. The small fries scream, fret, fume, and keep calling every other opponent names.

For all this, there is little chance that the BJP would do wonders in 2019, more so because by then, Modi would have slid down further in popularity ladder after the Punjab and UP polls where victory seems slim as of now. Modi too keeps erring beyond public tolerance- by making rude passes at Manmohan Singh, a revered former PM. Modi’s acts are very unbecoming of a Prime Minister.

Lastly, Amit Shah and Modi probably have the same ‘oratory tutor’ because they mimic and taunt opponents exactly in the same style and manner. Dharmendra Pradhan has picked the same tricks too, though a little less skilfully. Pradhan may have been told by the BJP high command to gear up to run for Odisha CM. But poor guy has to capture a geographical constituency first.

Funnily, though he is the Petroleum minister De jure, but De facto a Mr nobody as per rumours. He is under constant watch lest he should suddenly start behaving like an executive and call shots. This rumour may be a little too stretched, but going by his power demonstration abilities, it appears to be true at times. Kanak Vardhan, Dilip Ray and perpetually ignored Bijay Mahapatra are least likely to let him surpass them in the race. This messed-up status will remain hanging for long – at least until 2019.

BJD may lose some more seats in 2019. But BJP will not do miracles as their stars do not have much light-emitting power as Naveen, no matter how logically or otherwise.

The BJP has to first project a credible political creature. Or else, capturing Odisha would remain the wildest day dream for ages to come!