By Ashutosh Mishra
Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s last visit to Odisha, when he addressed a rally at Tamando on the outskirts of the capital city, had come in the wake of the double whammy the party had suffered in the form of resignations of its two powerful MLAs – Naba Kishore Das and Jogesh Singh.
Rahul, however, had remained unfazed by the development and launched a blistering attack on both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and chief minister Naveen Patnaik. Unlike Modi, he was not shy of taking on the state government. He had, in fact, gone to the extent of accusing Modi and Patnaik of having a secret pact and Odisha chief minister becoming a puppet in the hands of the Prime Minister.
On Wednesday while addressing a rally at Bhawanipatna the young Congress chief picked up from where he had left in Tamando. Unsparing in his criticism of both Modi and Patnaik, he accused the two leaders of “snatching” tribal land and assured the tribal community of the state that his party would fight for its rights.
Playing the tribal and Dalit card deftly, he said neither the Centre not Odisha government has thought of the welfare of these communities. “Congress is the only party committed to safeguarding the land of tribals. We will protect the rights of tribals in Odisha and elsewhere,” he assured.
In what was his second visit to the state in the last 10 days Gandhi scion also accused Modi and Patnaik of working for the “benefit of their industrialist friends” while “neglecting” farmers and the poor. He contrasted this with the performance of his party governments in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan where farm loans had been waived.
There is no doubt that Rahul struck all the right notes and he also seems be growing in stature as a leader with each passing day. But given the problems that surround the Congress in the state it would be Herculean task for him to revive the party and make it worthy of retaining its place as the main opposition party.
While Naba Das and Jogesh Singh have already resigned former union minister, Srikant Jena and his protégé, former Koraput MLA Krushna Chandra Sagaria are also out of the party. Though Jena is yet to join any party despite his growing closeness to the Aam Admi Party (AAP), Sagaria has changed colours and jumped onto Mayavati’s elephant, which has only a notional presence in the state.
As things stand today, the Congress in Odisha is facing both a crisis of confidence as well as resources. While its confidence appears to have been seriously undermined by the exodus of leaders, a process that began over two years ago with the defection of former chief minister Giridhar Gamang, it is reportedly facing a financial crunch.
These are ominous signs for the party ahead of the general elections, which are going to be crucial for the Congress that has been out of power in the state since 2000. Unless Pradesh Congress Committee president Niranjan Patnaik succeeds in instilling confidence among cadres and bankrolls the party sufficiently, it is unlikely to put up a credible show in the polls.
