Bhubaneswar: The Congress in Odisha seems to be in deep trouble ahead of All India Congress Committee (AICC) president Rahul Gandhi’s scheduled visit to the state on January 25.The crisis that began with the resignation of state party working president and Jharsuguda MLA Naba Kishore Das last week has escalated with Sundergarh MLA Jogesh Singh putting in his papers and former Union minister, Srikant Jena and his protégé, former Koraput MLA, Krushna Chandra Sagaria being expelled from the Congress for ‘anti-party’ activities.Naba Kishore DasTaking place at breakneck speed, these developments have dealt a body blow to the party’s preparations for the upcoming elections when Congress, already facing the threat of losing its main opposition party tag, would virtually be fighting for its existence in the state where it has been out of power since 2000.Rubbing salt into the wounds of the state Congress leadership, both Naba Das and Jogesh Singh appear set to join the Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal. While Das, according to BJD sources, may formally join the party on January 24 during the chief minister’s Jharsuguda visit, Singh is said to be in talks with party leaders.Significantly, Singh’s resignation, followed his suspension from the party – a step that was supposed to be a damage control exercise mounted by Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Niranjan Patnaik after Naba Das announced his decision to quit the party. But the Sundergarh MLA, who had apparently earned the leadership’s wrath for describing chief minister, Naveen Patnaik as an able administrator, decided to go the whole hog instead of retracing his steps as expected by the PCC chief.Also read: Why Modi Is Fighting Shy of Taking On Naveen PatnaikThe decision to expel former union minister, Srikant Jena and former Koraput MLA, Krushna Chandra Sagaria followed soon after as both had embarrassed the state party leadership with their statements. While Jena had been critical of Niranjan Patnaik ever since being removed as the state manifesto committee chairperson Sagaria had openly accused the party leadership of failing to back his campaign on the Kunduli gang-rape issue.More than Sagaria it was Jena’s attacks that hurt the PCC chief as the former union minister deliberately made repeated references to the “mining mafia” despite being fully aware that Patnaik family had an interest in the mining business. Before being removed as the manifesto committee chairperson Jena had also made a strong pitch for someone from the Dalit or OBC community being made the chief minister if the Congress returned to power in the state. This, according to Congress sources, was an attempt to preclude the possibility of Patnaik becoming the chief minister in the unlikely event of Congress actually winning the elections.Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Credit: PIBThe PCC chief, on his part, has sought to put up a brave face, describing those quitting the party as “immoral” leaders who treated politics as a commercial activity. “Their departure will have no impact on our electoral prospects. We have replacements for each one of them. Our preparations for the polls will actually get a boost,” said Patnaik, making it clear that he was not going to succumb to any kind of blackmail.However, Patnaik’s bravado notwithstanding, there is no doubt that the resignation of two key MLAs and the expulsion of seasoned leaders like Jena and Sagaria just ahead of the elections is going to hurt the party. While both Das and Singh are powerful leaders in their areas with excellent organisational skills Jena, despite the rebellious streak in him, is known to a master strategist.Also read: BJP in Odisha Lacks the Organisational Strength to Realise Its AmbitionsStung by his expulsion Jena now seems intent on extracting revenge. While he has announced his intention to campaign against both Naveen Patnaik and Niranjan Patnaik as he wants to “rid Odisha of the rule of Patnaik families” he is now also targeting AICC chief, Rahul Gandhi whom he has accused of handing over the state Congress affairs to the ‘mining mafia.’ He also alleged that there was a tacit alliance between Congress and the BJD in the state, an oblique reference to the fact that PCC chief’s brother, Soumya Ranjan Patnaik is now BJD Rajya Sabha member.As it is factionalism has been the bane of the Congress in the state. Plagued by internal strife and a lacklustre leadership the party has been on a downslide for more than a decade now. AICC’s tentative approach to the problems of the state party has not helped matters. Successive PCC presidents have been victims of this ad hoc approach by the central party leadership which failed to protect them from the scourge of factional wars.Former minister, Jaydev Jena, a prominent Dalit leader, had to face a sustained campaign by rebels when he was the PCC president. The AICC finally succumbed to the demands of rebels and he was made to quit. No less controversial was the tenure of his successor, Prasad Harichandan who had begun his innings with a lot of promise coining the slogan of “ mun nuhen amein” (We, not I) in what was seen as an attempt to promote the idea of collective leadership in the party.Ironically, however, factionalism entered its worst phase under his leadership and the chasm between the PCC and the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) widened to such an extent even AICC’s intervention failed to save Harichandan. With party MLAs launching a campaign against him the central Congress leadership was left with no option but to replace him with former minister and the incumbent PCC chief, Niranjan Patnaik. Now Patnaik seems to be facing the same problem.“Internal feuds have destroyed the party in the state. It is unfortunate that we have not been able to unite even with elections knocking at the door,” said former Congress MLA Dr. Lalatendu Mohapatra.Also read: The Realpolitik of Odisha Chief Minister Naveen PatnaikWith the Congress going downhill, the obvious gainer should be BJP which, fired by the chief ministerial ambitions of Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan has, for all practical purposes, replaced it as the main opposition party of the state.The saffron party, which has launched an aggressive campaign against chief minister, Naveen Patnaik, had made major gains in the 2017 panchayat elections taking advantage of Congress’s decline. With Congress votes getting transferred to the BJP in a number of districts the party’s zila parishad tally in the last panchayat polls had gone upto 297 from a mere 36 in 2012.While the BJP is hopeful of making similar gains in the general elections as well Biju Janata Dal leaders assert that it is their party which would benefit the most from the fall of Congress. “Unlike the panchayat polls, in which local factors played a major role, the general elections will be fought on bigger issues. Here our party will be the natural choice of people who won’t like to waste their votes on BJP and the Congress. Even Congress supporters will opt for us if they don’t like the candidates of their party,” said BJD secretary Bijay Nayak.
