Odisha: ‘Naveen Would Rather See BJD Suffer Than Make Pandian a Scapegoat’

New leaders in and old ones to be dispensed with – this is, perhaps, the fresh benchmark which Biju Janata Dal (BJD) chief Naveen Patnaik has set for his party, which is on the brink of a partial collapse because of a mutually destructive air within.

At the root of all that appears to be the ‘bone of contention’ in BJD is one man -- V K Pandian—Patnaik’s former Man Friday.  There is an air of distrust within BJD as many senior leaders appear to be losing patience with regard to Patnaik’s tacit “moral dependence” on Pandian, a former bureaucrat-turned-politician.

Read Also: Unrest in Biju Janata Dal, ‘Pandian Go Back’ Slogan Gains Momentum

“No matter if Pandian, as often repeated by Patnaik, has left BJD and is nowhere around, he is always present in Patnaik’s mind and soul. Why is this so?”, said Kameswar Rao, a senior journalist.

Rao alleged that “in every discourse, Patnaik never forgets to heap praises on Pandian for his ‘tremendous contribution’ to the administrative and political fields. In the present situation, Pandian should refrain from continuing to play cards from behind as Patnaik’s ‘conscience keeper’”.

Why does Pandian continue to remain entrenched in Navin Niswas (Patnaik’s residence), making his presence implicit, rather than coming out openly and clearing the air on his role in Navin Niwas, if he has genuinely relinquished politics? questioned some political analysts.

More than a dozen senior BJD leaders seem to be on the other side of the political divide, which Patnaik is aware of, but all his explanations before the media are gradually getting tougher toward “disgruntled” BJD leaders, thus sending a message to them to stop raising their voices against Pandian.

“Why is he so touchy when someone speaks about Pandian?” wondered a BJD leader, requesting anonymity.  

Meanwhile, as per political grapevine, Pandian continues to be a conduit between BJD and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) central leadership, allegedly playing the role of a leveller. The voting by BJD for the Waqf Bill in Parliament, is said to be an offshoot of that.

In fact, BJD from the very beginning has been supporting the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, both in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. The reasons behind this are related to the political survival of Patnaik in Odisha.

There were days when two swords were hanging on Naveen Patnaik’s head -- a Ponzi scam and mining scam -- and the Enforcement Directorate or ED on one occasion even reached near the gates of Navin Niwas to apprehend a trusted lieutenant of Patnaik, Saroj Sahoo, for his alleged role in the Ponzi scam.

The mining scam has been swept under the carpet for now, following the bonhomie between Patnaik and Modi that rests on conditions of ‘give and take.’

Hence, at 78, the BJD chief would not risk a consequence like in Jharkhand or Delhi where two incumbent Chief Ministers were put in jail.

That compulsion, perhaps, still has prominent space in Patnaik’s psyche. He wants to play on safer ground and needs someone to help smoothen any legal barbs from the Centre.

“In the given situation, any voice or banner of revolt relating to his proximity with Pandian will not be tolerated. Patnaik would rather see BJD bereft of a few senior rebel leaders than make Pandian the scapegoat”, Rabi Das, senior political analyst, told NewsClick.

“Patnaik should have recalled a midnight operation in 2012, when his former political ‘conscience-keeper’ Pyari Mohan Mohapatra, also a bureaucrat-turned BJD top leader, had tried to revolt against him through coup, but it was the same BJD leaders who helped foil the bid,” Das added.

Many analysts believe that BJD would survive as long as Patnaik is alive, after that the party may collapse like a house of cards, with some BJD leaders joining Congress or BJP.  

Political wisdom demands that Patnaik should call a meeting of all BJD leaders and reassure them of his confidence in them, rather than pave the way for ‘clinical separation’, as being amplified by two prominent media groups.

The writer is a freelancer based in Odisha.