The Eastern Zonal Council(EZC) meeting held in Bhubaneswar is a crucial one. Mainly for the states who would look into greater rapports with the Centre.
There may be a few contentious issues that the union home minister Amit Shah, also the chairman of the EZC, may find hard to tackle.
Change of climate
But, the bigger takeaway, and of course, beyond the realms of politics, is the changing chemistry between the chief minister Naveen Patnaik and union home minister Amit Shah.
As inputs pour in, after the meeting at the Lok Seva Bhavan, Shah will be heading for Naveen Niwas for the lunch. Where, homilies, pleasantries and shakes may further warm up the bonhomie between Shah and Patnaik.
It is something that was not even conceivable in 2014 and even after that. Those days it were all pure wind that used to create a flutter of enmity but, later both Naveen and Shah perhaps decided in favour of a climate more conducive for both., to solidify the air of geniality.
Now, the home minister’s decision to join all for the lunch at Naveen Niwas, cannot be seen in isolation as a mere gesture of courtesy but a demonstration of a willingness by both to reaffirm concreteness and clarity instead of vagueness that the local BJP cadre here always tried to project.
The leader (Shah) who had once given a touch of euphemism to describe Patnaik as a spent force and deserved a dump in the sea, has today shown political conformity and a relation towards individuality.
That, in fact, is the essence of politics where the relationship between state and centre should aim to sail through, minus the customary trading of barbs at each other.
It has been seen much before through the ways the union minister Dharmendra Pradhan has conducted himself as regards his dispositions at the Odisha chief minister.
He had changed his ways, language and manifested a willingness to adopt conciliation as the major mode than resorting to tirades.
Pradhan has done one thing good and that is by bridging the gap between state’s real and declared aims towards development by taking the chief minister along with.
And it has paid in many ways other than, the jitters that the other local BJP leaders feel and still expect Shah to refresh his old stance at Patnaik.
