A split and a crisis

Published : Oct 25, 2002 00:00 IST

The split in the Biju Janata Dal parliamentary party seems to be snowballing into a political crisis threatening Naveen Patnaik's leadership of the party and the government in Orissa.

The ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in Orissa has been thrown into a crisis after six of its 10 Lok Sabha members broke away from the party and sought recognition from Speaker Manohar Joshi as being the `real' BJD parliamentary group. In a letter to Joshi dated September 17, MPs Prasanna Patsani, Prabhat Samantray, Kumudini Patnaik, Jagannath Mallick, Prasanna Acharya and Bhartruhari Mahatab conveyed their choice of Mahatab in place of Braja Kishore Tripathi as the party's Chief Whip. Prasanna Acharya was elected leader of the parliamentary party in place of Union Minister Arjun Charan Sethi. As the next step, the rebels are trying to divide the BJD legislature party, which has 70 members in the 147-member State Assembly.

It appears that the rebels do not want to split the party or float a new political outfit. Their strategy seems to be aimed at taking over the party's leadership and dislodging Naveen Patnaik from the posts of BJD president and Chief Minister. Expelled BJD leader and Rajya Sabha member Dilip Ray, who is leading the "oust Naveen campaign'', is confident that the reverberations of the changes in the parliamentary party will soon be felt in Bhubaneswar. Ray told Frontline: "We are the founders of the BJD and have every right to take over the leadership. Our revolt is against Naveen Patnaik's autocratic style of functioning. The new group is the real BJD and the developments in the Lok Sabha are bound to have serious repercussions in Bhubaneswar.''

However, Naveen Patnaik denied that the revolt constituted a threat to his leadership. He said: "As long as the people of Orissa are with me, I shall never feel threatened.'' He expressed regret that such developments had taken place at a time when the State was reeling under a drought. Patnaik pointed out that the revolt had taken place even as the BJD was opposing the privatisation of the National Aluminium Company (Nalco), based in the State.

The crisis in the parliamentary party has transformed the long-running cold war within the party into a war for political supremacy. On September 20, in a show of strength, the rebels held a rally at Hinjili, the Chief Minister's Assembly constituency. Although Patnaik put on a brave front in public, there are signs that he is unnerved by the dissident activity. Even as the dissidents organised the rally at Hinjili, the State administration went into overdrive. While the local BJD unit called a bandh in the area and blocked the roads to prevent the people from coming to Hinjili, the police arrested several supporters of dissident leaders such as former State Finance Minister Ramakrushna Patanaik, who was suspended from the party recently.

That trouble was brewing in the BJD became evident each time Naveen Patnaik went about outwitting his rivals. A master of realpolitik, Patnaik has in the past crushed all signs of rebellion in the nick of time. He sidelined Bijoy Mohapatra, a former Minister and a founder-member of the party, during the Assembly elections in 2000. Mohapatra was shown the door soon after the last date for the withdrawal of nomination papers for the Assembly elections, denying him a chance to contest the elections even as an independent. It was at Patnaik's behest that Dilip Ray was dropped unceremoniously from the Union Cabinet. Ray avenged his defeat by foiling Patnaik's attempts to prevent him from getting elected to the Rajya Sabha. Ray was elected as an independent candidate with the support of some Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs. This was despite the fact that the BJP is a coalition partner of the BJD in Orissa.

WHEN Naveen Patnaik, son of late Chief Minister Biju Patnaik, appeared on the political scene five years ago, he was a refreshing change for the State. The Congress(I) was rejected at the hustings for its nepotism and corruption. Naveen had come without any political baggage and therefore had nobody to fear or favour. The vote in favour of the BJD was as much for an honest person unsullied by scandals as it was for an oportunity to clean up the mess left behind by the previous regime. Despite growing dissidence within the party, Naveen's popularity remained largely unaffected. His insistence on providing a transparent and corruption-free regime touched the people's hearts. Three Assembly byelection victories followed. He showed his resolve to fight corruption within the State administration by ordering suspensions and transfers and setting up inquiry commissions.

But soon Patnaik was forced to make compromises with tainted persons in his party in order to eliminate politically those who challenged his "style of functioning and autocratic rule". Last month, in order to strengthen his position against growing dissidence within the party, he included in his Cabinet four persons with dubious records, and accused of various crimes in the past. They were cleared by trial courts. The government could have appealed against the acquittals in the High Court, but that was not done. Observers believe that Naveen Patnaik wanted to induct them into the Cabinet and consolidate his position against those who challenged his leadership. The BJD president never trusted Mohapatra or other senior leaders such as Dilip Ray and Nalinikanta Mohanty, all founder-members of the BJD. Mohanty, a former Minister and a critic of Patnaik, was dropped along with Kamala Das and Prasant Nanda from the State Cabinet in 2001 on charges of graft, though they did not face any vigilance charges on that score. Ironically, they were the persons who had anointed Naveen Patnaik as the successor of Biju Patnaik.

As the coup against Naveen Patnaik was being scripted in New Delhi on September 17, very few people knew that it was Bijoy Mohapatra and Dilip Ray who were behind it. In early August, Arjun Charan Sethi, leader of the BJD's parliamentary party, alerted the Chief Minister about a possible split in the party, which led to the suspension of three MPs Jagannath Mallick, Prabhat Samantray and Kumudini Patnaik. Soon three of the remaining seven BJD MPs Prasanna Acharya, Prasanna Patsani and Bhartruhari Mahatab joined hands with the three suspended MPs to declare that they had formed a separate group to represent the BJD in the Lok Sabha. It was a grand reunion of all Naveen-baiters who had been humiliated by him. Having tasted success, the dissidents' aim now is to replace Patnaik. Although a split in the BJD legislature party is unlikely at this time, it cannot be ruled out once they cobble up a majority.

As the infighting in the BJD flares up, the BJP's role as an ally will assume critical importance. The BJD's internal problems can make things uneasy for the BJP too. The split in the BJD's parliamentary party is likely to lead to a division among its members in the Orissa Assembly. When that happens, Patnaik's Chief Ministership could be at stake. While the BJD is a constituent of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government at the Centre, the BJP is an ally of the party in the State government. However, the rebels have pledged their support to the NDA government. If this pattern is repeated in the Orissa Assembly, the breakaway group may seek the support of the BJP to form its own government in Bhubaneswar. The BJP leadership can assume a neutral role in New Delhi because the BJD's problems do not mean any threat to the NDA's majority in the Lok Sabha. But siding with the rebels in the State will expose the BJP to the charge of encouraging a split in an ally. Undoubtedly, there is uncertainty ahead for Naveen Patnaik.

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