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Orissa Congress in the throes of a rebellion

Bibhuti Mishra in Bhubaneswar

Law and Panchayati Raj Minister Raghunath Patnaik has resigned not only from the Hemananda Biswal Cabinet but also the primary membership of the Congress; he will contest the forthcoming Orissa assembly election as an independent. Finance Minister Bhagabat Prasad Mohanty, offering to resign, has flown to New Delhi to plead his case! Rural Development Minister K C Lenka has already announced his decision not to contest under the leadership of J B Patnaik and dashed off an angry letter to the party high command.

As expected, the state Congress is seeing an open revolt by aspirants who have been denied tickets. The common target is the Orissa Pradesh Congress Committee president. Patnaik is accused of having favoured his own loyalists. In Ganjam district alone, six of the 15 candidates are Patnaik's men. And the prized seat of Berhampur has been handed over to a political greenhorn, Bikram Panda, a Patnaik loyalist.

Reacting to this, OPCC general secretary Chandra Shekhar Sahu, a prominent politician of Ganjam, has threatened to contest the election as an independent. In Cuttack district as well, the Congress is facing stormy weather, with many aspirants and prominent leaders coming out in the open against the selection of candidates. Patnaik himself is to contest Athgarh, one of the seats in this district.

Many senior legislators have also taken up the ensign of revolt. Anantram Majhi, who had vacated the Laxmipur seat for former chief minister Giridhar Gamang, has resigned as district Congress president because he has been denied the party's nomination. Moreover, he has sworn to ensure the defeat of the official candidate.

Similarly, Jitu Mitra, a prominent politician from Khurda, has left the party with his followers. He too is going to contest as an independent. While some other frustrated politicians are making a beeline for parties like the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Trinamul Congress, most have vowed to queer the pitch for the official candidates. With the party's image already at a low and its electoral prospects bleak, this revolt is going to further jeopardise its chances.

But Patnaik remains unfazed. The OPCC chief told rediff.com, "I am being blamed because I am the easiest scapegoat. But the list of candidates has been finalised by the central committee. The party wanted to give itself a new image, so 56 new candidates have been nominated. The minorities have been given due importance. There are four Muslims, three Christians and one Sikh. It is all as per the party's policies. The kind of developmental work undertaken by the Congress government in the last five years is unprecedented. I am sure the benefit will be reaped at the hustings. I can only appeal to all to work unitedly for the Congress to win."

The wrangle between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Biju Janata Dal and the disenchantment in the BJD camp in the wake of the 84-63 pact should have helped the Congress in the election. But unless it puts its own house in order, it may fail to seize this opportunity.

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