When high-voltage political dramas were on the roll in 2016, the year 2017 has, indeed, seen unfolding of a set of ‘dramatic’ political alterations having far reaching consequences on the Odisha’s political history. 2017 has lived up to its dramatis persona even in its twilight days, when BJD veteran Damodar Rout has to made an unceremonious exit from the Cabinet.
It’s like almost justifying the famous saying that significant and seemingly impossible political changes happen more often than one thinks; and it happens more rapidly than one realizes; the pick of the year 2017 was of ‘lotus’ blooming in Odisha quite dramatically, especially in western Odisha, in a big way decimating the BJD despite a hectic Mahanadi agitation by the BJD.
The BJP surge has even shocked political observers and the BJD alike. And soon Odisha panchayat elections results did become a talking point in UP Assembly elections, when none less than PM Narendra Modi himself elucidated in UP hinterlands about how BJP is growing stronger in poverty-hit States like Odisha.
This is a first in political history when political winds from Odisha dramatically made an entry into the power centre of country’s electoral destiny called Uttar Pradesh vis-a-vis the vice versa till 2017. The sequel hosts another dramatic political event as the buoyant BJP held its National Executive meet in April in Odisha after nearly two decades, and where PM Modi virtually did a Varanasi encore in Bhubaneswar.
While the year has made the BJP more euphoric, and that is evidenced by none less a personae than BJP president Amit Shah who pegged the tally bar to a high of 120+ for 2019 polls in 2017, on the other hand a melee of sorts was broken out in the ruling BJD in 2017 when battle-ready party stalwarts were at each other’s throats and in the melee many barbs were also aimed at BJD supremo and CM Naveen Patnaik, that sprouted up many a theory about the crumbling edifice of the BJD high command.
Party infighting in the BJD peaked in 2017 that gave nightmares to the top BJD managers. The twin tangle of thinning public perception and waging of an internecine battle gave a harrowing time to the ruling party, and stories of BJD ripping apart were doing merry-go-rounds in the State’s political circles.
And when the first-of-such kind of dramatic turn of events in BJD history were fanning a chaotic scenario in the party, a well-nuanced stick and carrot policy strategised by BJD supremo Patnaik to quell the all-out war within party yielded results. Warring leaders’ cacophony subsided as year 2017 draws to an end, and the exit of veteran BJD leader Rout without much murmur speaks well about the kind of tight grip of BJD high command over the party. The party now looks as a cohesive unit, which was on vivid display during the event of 20th anniversary of BJD at Puri vis-a-vis the event of 3rd anniversary of BJD’s fourth-term in May 2017. When euphoric BJP and a saner BJD are gearing up for high-pitch electoral battle up next, the Indian National Congress (INC) in Odisha looks to be at its wit’s end as the fight for State unit boss is hanging fire even as the year draws to a close. Odisha INC saw dramatic depletion in men and material in 2017. Leaders and spoke persons deserted the party in hordes, when the leaders at top were busy fighting for crown. The State Congress at the end of year looks more splintered with many of its top leaders not seeing eye to eye.