Samikhsya Bureau
It was not the usual air of euphoria there at the Bharatiya Janata Party office in Odisha, when Samir Mohanty took over as the new president of the state unit.
Some known faces could be seen from the rear rows, while a few had on their faces a faint shades of dismay and quit a few, had writ on them a smog intensified by askance.
Did anything go wrong or it was merely a moment of an enduring silence that any cadre has to get along with.
If face is index
Even, known for his jovial exuberance at such occasions, the BJP national vice president, Baijayant Panda, despite being cushioned on a front row seat, was unusually serene, resting his face on his palms and looking at the blankness.
One of the tallest man of the BJP in Odisha, K V Singh Deo, (a former state president of the BJP) who was accosted by someone from the rear benches to the front, was, as if, betraying some emotions deep within. Obviously a deserving leader of the party who stood out through many tests in last two decades .
The entirety revealed a sort of atmosphere as if many or quite a few of them were submitting themselves before the new reality reluctantly, sporting tolerant smiles at the preening cameras.
Name of Samir Mohanty was in circulation as a candidate for who can volunteer for more space for a certain yet vital component of the party.
‘He is a fresher of sort for such a job and has nothing to claim a state-level acceptance’ rued one BJP leader straight, although confidentially. He had his doubts over the consensus part, ‘consensus doesn’t mean thrust someone’ .
Mild trembles within
Odisha BJP suffers from a schismatic trend for last few months mainly. The clash of interests have become chronic post the 2019 polls when new aspirants from within have thrown the hats into the ring to make themselves noticed by the national leadership.
Not to lag behind in the race is the member of parliament from Bhubaneswar, Aparajita Sarangi, who leaves no efforts to integrate herself with none locally. The objective is clear and that is a parallel combine made out of the people and her motley followers.
The battle-lines between her and union minister Dharmendra Pradhan are already drawn. But, the latter has traveled miles and his contributions to lend the BJP the relevance in Odisha may tether Sarangi tight in the days to come.
That obviously leaves an invisible section in the party who try hard to wean away the feelings of similar souls who build the middle strata that neither identifies itself overtly nor happy with their anonymity for long.
It is kind of politically mystifying air looms over the state unit and for Samir Mohanty, the road at reasserting the equivalence may be fraught with undulations.
