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Orissa politics in a ferment

Bibhuti Mishra in Bhubaneshwar

Orissa Chief Minister J B Patnaik says there is no question of his withdrawing the resignation submitted to Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Monday night.

Patnaik, who addressed the Orissa gram panchayat workers conference, later told newsmen he had been telling all those who came to meet him that his decision to quit the office remained unchanged.

To a question about the signature campaign by his loyalists urging Sonia not to accept the resignation, the chief minister said he did not believe in pressure tactics.

Party sources said the chief minister rebuked some of his supporters who wanted to go to Delhi to submit a petition to Sonia in this regard. The loyalists later dropped the idea.

Meanwhile, the political climate in Orissa warmed up after Acting Governor Dr Chakravarty Rangarajan returned to the state.

The governor returned, ostensibly to discuss matters with the Finance Commission, but it is during his visit that a new chief minister is likely to be sworn in.

Patnaik, who handed in his resignation, has still to be replaced, with Sonia likely to take a decision in a couple of days. Congress sources have ruled out any possibility of Sonia not accepting the resignation.

But Sonia has to be careful. Making an enemy of Patnaik could ruin the Congress's chances in the state. He is likely to get a central party post and a hand in picking the next chief minister.

There are four or five candidates for the chief minister's post. Loyalists, consisting of a large percentage of the 83 Congress MLAs and ministers, have written a letter to the high command stating their confidence in Patnaik. The dissidents, who met at the residence of Deputy CM Basant K Biswal, have, on the other hand, threatened to resign en masse if Patnaik's resignation is not accepted.

The loyalists ' letter claims the violence in the state is a result of a conspiracy by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal.

While more than 50 people have been arrested in the Manoharpur case, the alleged rape of the nun is still shrouded in mystery and the culprit of the murder of the Christian girl in Raikia has turned out to be a Christian. So a communal angle is weak, they say. But Patnaik has rejected the loyalists' demand that he not resign.

Currently, there four candidates to the post:

Hemananda Biswal, Pradesh Congress Committee chief and leader of the Dalits in western Orissa. He is seen as lacking in dynamism, but has a fairly clean image and has the best chance at present.

Basant Biswal, the deputy chief minister: An arch-rival of Patnaik, he has many allegations against him. Poor leadership qualities and a poor following make things difficult for him. And the high command wants no leader directly involved in dissidence.

Giridhar Gomango, MP: A long-time MP from Koraput, he has a clean image. A former Union minister, he is unlikely to be a great leader, with an assembly election just one year away. His eagerness to take over make him an unlikely candidate for the chief minister.

Nandini Satpathy, former chief minister and chairperson of the planning board. The toughest chief minister the state has had, she did some impressive work in the mid-seventies before falling a victim to Indira Gandhi's ire. But she is in poor health and has no substantial following. Her candidature depends on equation with Sonia Gandhi.

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