Unrest In Kalinga

Naveen’s New Fears

• Former friend Pyari Mohan Mahapatra is a formidable foe, and could strike back at a time of bruising scams
• Infighting and bickering within the party is coming to the fore, threatening to create alternative power centres
• There are influential leaders who are more visible in political and media circles in the capital

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In June, when Orissa chief minister Naveen Patnaik led his 20 MPs to meet the newly elected prime minister, Narendra Modi, one of the MPs noticed an uncommonly revelatory sign in his usually unflappable boss. Flush from the Biju Janata Dal’s resounding victory in the state in the Lok Sabha elections­—amidst a ‘Modi wave’, BJD bagged 20 out of 21 LS seats—the four-time chief minister should have been beaming, even smugly confident. But instead, says the MP, Naveen “looked disturbed”. By the MP’s account, “The arrangement was that Modi was seated three seats away from our MP Jay Panda. After a while, when Modi walked over to Panda and greeted him, exchanging pleasantries, and the latter reciprocated cordially, the CM just did not like it. He seemed to resent the camaraderie that the two were apparently sharing.”

If any public proof were required of the soft, urbane Jay Panda’s willingness to act suitably non-partisan about the Modi regime, it came in a laudatory signed edit in ToI on September 3—where the blogging, tweeting new-gen politician gave the PM a ‘75 not out’ in 100 days.

Ever since 2012, when an attempt was made by one of the CM’s most trusted aides, Pyari Mohan Mahapatra, to overthrow him, Naveen has been chronically insecure, suspecting his closest confidants, anticipating another stab in the back, says the MP. “Jay was once counted as amongst the CM’s most favoured party colleagues, one who was projected as the face of the party nationally. But lately even his intentions are being doubted.”

So much so that the CM, who has reportedly been advised medical treatment abroad by physicians, is wary of leaving Bhubaneshwar lest there is a repeat of the 2012 incident. And the buzz in political and journalistic circles in Bhubaneshwar today is that his fears may not be entirely unfounded.

In order to make sense of this atmosphere of mistrust that marks Bhubanesh­war politics—almost Macbethian, one is tempted to say, in its air thick with intrigue—one needs rewind by a couple of years to May 2012. Pyari Mohan Mahapatra, Rajya Sabha MP, Naveen’s former deputy and right hand man, and by all accounts wielder of immense power from behind the scenes—taking policy decisions, determining strategy, even picking electoral candidates—had hatched a plot to topple the gov­e­rnment and grab power himself. The Orissa CM was on an investment garnering trip in the UK—the first trip abroad in over a decade for the former socialite—when he got drift of the plan. It was conveyed to him by one of the 33 MLAs, who was rep­ortedly summoned by Pyari Mohan, to be whisked away to Swosti, a five-star hotel in downtown Bhubanesh­war, to evade the media and made to sign a statement of disapproval that castigated Naveen’s way of functioning.

The face BJD MP Jay Panda in Delhi. (Photograph by Jitender Gupta)

“The plot was foiled and Pyari Mohan was expelled from the party, but it has left the CM feeling extremely uneasy,” the BJD MP pointed out. “He is constantly watching over his shoulder now.” And naturally the mistrust, say insiders, is directed against those whom he perceives to be a threat—astute politicians like Pyari Mohan, for instance, who are also articulate, suave and visible in New Delhi’s corridors of power. In this context the name of Jay Panda, who fits the description to the tee, is cropping up in conversations in Bhubaneshwar.

Sampad Mahapatra, editor of online portal Odisha Sun Times, observes, “Jay Panda is urbane, rich, good-looking and his proximity to top leaders of the BJP is something that bothers Naveen. He feels eclipsed by Jay’s growing popularity at the Centre. It is no secret that Jay, who was once Naveen Patnaik’s blue-eyed boy, has fallen out of favour.”

But Naveen loyalists claim it’s the other way around. They admit there are indeed secret aspirants to the CM’s chair but say Naveen is too secure in his position to feel threatened by any of that. “There may be power struggles within the party but Naveen Patnaik is not scared of anyone,” BJD MP Pinaki Mishra, who is widely believed to be among those whom Naveen is backing in order to counter Jay Panda’s rise, tells Outlook. “He has no reason to be suspicious. In terms of popularity or charisma, credibility or reliability, no one in the party can match Naveen Patnaik. The election results show that. No one comes even a close second. What does he have to fear?” Asked about Jay’s popularity in Orissa, Mishra says, “He has about .001 per cent of Orissa’s voteshare. Naveen Patnaik commands nearly 92 per cent.”

The numbers are indeed on the CM’s side. Consider the scale of the victory he steered the party to in both the asse­mbly and parliamentary elections held in May. The BJD won 117 out of the 147 assembly seats and 20 out of the 21 LS seats. And that without the supposed indispensability of former aide Pyari Mohan.

But Naveen can’t rest behind his seemingly impregnable defences. For one, his sworn enemy Pyari Mohan Mahapatra is recouping. He alleges that his phones are tapped by the state government and private detectives track every step of his. He also claims banks and other institutions have been told not to grant him loans. Whatever the restrictions on him, Pyari’s two-year-old party, Odisha Jana Morcha, is quietly gaining ground and swelling in membership. The man knows the CM inside out, including, by his own admission, “all Naveen’s weaknesses”.

Political experts say his strategy is to lie low now and strike at an opportune moment. Pyari’s home and office in the posh Shaheed Nagar area, once seen as the de facto seat of power, is no longer Bhubaneshwar’s bustling political hub. Being politically ostracised, many acq­uaintances generally avoid him these days. But the careful observer would also note the occasional visitor who drops in, sometimes surreptitiously.

However, the real threat for Naveen emanates from within, from the cracks in the BJD itself, an outfit virtually seething with discontent and distrust.

“The elections results are misleading if you take that as the determinant of the BJD’s health. The truth is that the party is in a shambles,” Sampad Mahapatra obs­e­rves. He attributes the recent une­art­h­ing of a major land scam—which has rocked Orissa and which involves top BJD leaders—to information leaked from within the party. “BJD MLAs and ministers are questioning the actions of their own colleagues in the assembly and speaking out against each other. Trouble has been brewing for a long time but they waited until the election results. Now the bickering has erupted in the party’s face.”

Among those to have spoken out  aga­inst corruption within the party are out­s­poken MP and editor of Oriya daily Dharitri—himself a former CM’s son—Tathagata Satpathy, and senior cabinet minister Dr Damodar Rout. They have both demanded action against corrupt party members.

Speaking to Outlook, senior BJD leader Kalpataru Das, who finds his name dra­g­ged into the land scam, claims he has been a victim of party politics and a vilification campaign. Known to be close to the CM, critics within the party allege he is being protected. “No, the chief minister spares no one,” Das rebuts.

But how many of his ministers, MLAs and MPs can Naveen afford to go after? “The Orissa land scam is bigger than all land scams put together and involves top BJD leaders and thousands of crores of rupees,” journalist Sundeep Sahu says. “And there is no question that different factions in the party are gradually becoming different power centres.”

One such power centre, according to some, is Jay Panda. They say Naveen’s own politics might be at the root of the evolution of such alternative power cen­tres. He is said to clip the wings of those who fly too high; in the process, he som­etimes hurts his allegiances. “Jay Panda has always defended Naveen Pat­naik in all TV studio discussions, never betraying any sign of a strained relationship,” says Sampad Mahapatra. “But then, it is suspected that he has higher aspirations than what Naveen is ready to concede. Jay has formed close friendships in the BJP establishment, which he could use to his advantage. He has also been carefully cultivating his national media image, appearing in prime-time news channels as the face of the BJD.”

An MP speaking to Outlook on condition of anonymity says, “Pyari’s removal has paved the way for other players to enter the fray.” Naming Jay Panda as one of them, he adds, “He once pointed out that like former chief minister Biju Patnaik, he too is a pilot and he too is 6’2” tall.” When contacted by Outlook, Panda SMS-ed back, saying he is in Japan. So was Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

By Dola Mitra in Bhubaneshwar