Only on September 9 this year, Amit Shah and his blind followers including Ravi Shankar Prasad, had arrogantly bragged in public that the BJP was so unshakeable that would rule India for at least half a century. They claimed to have transformed India into one of the happiest countries where people had forgotten the spelling of ‘sorrow', ‘hunger’ and ‘bodily ailments'. Shah said the party would win the 2019 elections because of its superb performance and no one can dethrone it for the next three or so generations. All this boastful talk was heard at the national executive meet of the party three months ago.
The saffron masterminds had never been keen to learn from grave blunders even once. They had got wild to lose Manipur and Goa. They were boastful about Bijepur in Odisha but had to bite dust like never before. Their boss began talked like an extortionist wherever he went to campaign for the party before polls. He had the daring to scream in Odisha -- “Uproot Naveen's BJD and have it tossed into thin air. Unfortunately in Odisha, they haven’t had a good enough face to portray to lead them to light. Lately, they have captured a lady bureaucrat who has been fleeced to take the terrible decision of giving up job to play the extreme front-liner in the State. She has been made to believe that the next turn belongs to the BJP as Shah has made all arrangements to ensure ‘120 plus’ seats to form a monopoly government with her as CM.
But what has just happened in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh may have killed the saffron appetite and sleep irreparably, at least for another quarter of a year. Shah and Modi have now gone into kind of hiding to shun the media's invasive queries as to who has been wrong and why. Only smaller creatures from the party are making statements owning up all damages and complimenting the Congress victors because that’s the only way of being able to show face in public. The Odisha BJP does not have any grey-matter guy to talk sense. They still keep saying that the 2019 polls would show miracles, though in timid squeaky voices. Aparajita, the latest catch, may be feeling horribly disturbed for having wrongly believed that all is hunky-dory for the Odisha saffron brigade. She could have done better in native Bihar with critical support from Nitish Kumar. She knows too well that Naveen’s dignified reticence and show of warmth to even the bitterest foes have endeared him to the masses. But she has been so enormously inspired by Modi’s explicit energy!. She thinks Naveen has less charisma than Modi. Further, she has never been able to figure out that Naveen’s complete control over the populist political class has proven incredibly effective as the people perceive every ordinary politician as a crook. The good-hearted political class is an extinct tribe as the people believe, and rightly so.
The wildest dream of capturing 120+ seats in Odisha has been conclusively shattered never to float back in any sleep ever again. The BJP is gone only due to arrogance and indecently boastful rhetoric. The ‘Chaiwala Prime Minister', who is slugging like mad, is perhaps the saddest person today. No matter what, he has given his last drop of sweat to keep the BJP afloat. But the headless motor-mouths in the fold have spoiled all his game-plans. Besides, the people of India have long since realised that it’s not the ‘Vajpayee-Advani' kind of BJP anymore with stalwarts like Arun Shourie, Jaswant Sinha, Yaswant Singh and Shatrughan Sinha supporting on all fronts to buy people’s hearts. All the quality brains have abandoned the national party for the ‘tradesman boss' and talkative chief executive wrongly tutored by hardcore market masters. Only divine miracles can restore public respect for the saffron fold engaged constantly in irritating the public by non-secular acts not forgivable ever.
As the BJP is biting dust in all its bastions, the Congress is celebrating, as is very normal. However, the Congress in Odisha has simply no reason to get euphoric. The party has degenerated since long. Present PCC chief Niranjan Patnaik, as his own insiders say, has no broadness of heart to keep the house in order. Some cash-crazy followers have chosen him to lead them, though absolutely in vain. The BJP at least looks visible and gets heard for the central leaders' scrambling and machinations. But the Congress has disintegrated into tiny camps and leagues. When they celebrated the three wins elsewhere, people of Odisha had the best laugh. Srikant Jena has been throwing biting jibes at Niranjan for having been discarded unceremoniously from an important PCC post. Both are despised by the people of Odisha. Jena had betrayed mentor Biju Patnaik so viciously as never to be forgiven by any sane Odia. So, the battle between a self-serving political trader and a branded betrayer is feast to the eyes of the people. Once earlier, every time the central Congress party observer would come to make assessment of Niranjan as leader would go back giving a clean chit to the trader who would continue despite intense opposition by party members. When the Congress boat has developed more leaking holes than ever before, Niranjan has taken over only to remain in news as he knows pretty well that there is no chance of returning to power.
Most interestingly, the irresponsible media keeps reporting about Damodar Rout having floated a new political party, which is grossly wrong and misplaced. The truth is that he has joined hands with a defunct political body called the Samata Kranti Dal founder by yet another long-forgotten character called Braja Kishore Tripathy who had abandoned the BJD for having fallen out with the then all-powerful Pyarimohan Mohapatra. Braja had joined the BJP temporarily imagining he had enormous mass appeal and could pocket all votes without even going around the electorate. He lost so shameful that he chose to remain in virtual hiding ever since 2009. He has just regained consciousness because old guide-cum-chum Dama has been discarded. The two have decided to make the Samata Kranti outfit a force to reckon with as Dama still believes he is a political icon and Braja does believe people are dying to have him back. Thus, Dama has only joined a junkyard party rusting at all joints and terminals only because the founder has been lost in oblivion since ages. Dama has though made one big request: Prefix the name with ‘Biju' because the legendary name spells magic even today. Dama Rout has chronic problems with brainy public officials, mostly bureaucrats. He had tough time with Pyari around. He called Pyari a sophisticated clerk or something expected to take orders, not pass any. But Pyari, the steel-minded creature that he was, made Dama run for life. Dama had even fallen on all fours before Pyari to enter the BJD and survive politically. Pyari is no more; but Dama instead of capitalising on the opportunity, fooled around with yet other capable, skilled and powerful bureaucrats to run into trouble permanently. He went berserk, spewed such venom as to be forced to eat up himself and fall flat eventually. It looks Dama is going to be out of sight forever for two big reasons -- abandoning a happy home and entering into garbage yard. Even if they rename fold as Biju Samata Kranti or whatever, the name appears too clumsy and unacceptable with the BJD flowing in the blood streams of many. No one worries about the founder Braja, whose picture has been erased since long. The media must, therefore, carry the right story saying that Dama has not floated any new party.
(The writer is a core member of Transparency International, Odisha)
