Cashing in on the Naveen Fatigue

IT IS EARLY in the morning and the apartment com­plex in Sambalpur where Dharmendra Pradhan is stay­ing is astir with activity—party volunteers and colony residents sip tea and chat among themselves while me­diapersons prepare television gear for interactions with the education minister. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate is in his flat, putting away an uncomplicated breakfast of mildly spiced vegetables, fruit and yoghurt while attending to calls to discuss campaign feedback. Yes, there is a discussion over certain issues, but no, there is no serious fallout. The focus on governance shortcomings of the Naveen Patnaik government should not be diluted. And so on. With just a couple of days of campaigning for the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha elec­tions left, Pradhan is rushing through the day’s schedule though without much fuss. A sense of unhurriedness is typical of the candidate, which ought not to be mistaken for a casual approach to things. Having returned late the previous night after Home Minister Amit Shah spent a day addressing rallies in Odisha, Pradhan is up for another long haul.

Asked about the perception that the BJP versus the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) battle is running closer than expected, it has come as a surprise since the pre-poll as­sessment was that while the saffron camp might improve its numbers in the state Assembly, veteran Patnaik would be back in office for a record sixth term, Pradhan politely disagrees. “I felt then, and I feel the same now, that people are searching for a new machinery of government [vy­avastha]. People are looking for a new system, a new government. The election is proceeding in that direction.” But Patnaik has been a very successful chief minister, in office since 2000. “The senti­ment has been building up, particularly in the past five years. A long tenure in office of 25 years means it is time for an evalua­tion. How does this look? There has been a sharp deterioration in Naveen Babu’s model. There is a problem with the governance system. Some work has been done, but some very basic issues remain unsolved. When Naveen Babu became an MP from Aska in 1997, he spoke of his priorities. He spoke of drinking water, a problem in his area, but this is a problem even today! Not just in a few places, but in many parts of the state. This is just an example.”

After leaving his apartment, Pradhan has several visitors waiting to greet him. Local TV channels are awaiting reac­tions to statements by BJD leaders as well as reports about the BJP campaign. Pradhan deals with the questions courteously, but carefully. The stakes are high in the elections to the state Assembly and Lok Sabha, held simultaneously in Odisha, just as in Andhra Pradesh. He elaborates on his theme, pointing out that Central schemes are not implemented in Odisha. “The Cen­tre has provided budgets to the state for the Har Ghar Jal (water to every house) programme. But even this is not implemented. Let’s turn to primary healthcare. Half the doctors, the posts, are empty. No appointments have been made. The basic pillar of the health system, primary healthcare, which caters to 75 per cent of the needs of the people, is impaired. There is a serious lack of doc­tors. Now, after a government has been in office for 25 years, just two parameters show where it has failed. Even today, the dropout ratio at the matriculation level in Odisha is 50 per cent. This is an unacceptably high percentage,” he points out.

PRADHAN AND OTHER state BJP leaders were opposed to moves to seal a BJP-BJD pact before the election. The possibility of the two dominant parties sweeping all 21 of the state’s Lok Sabha seats was tempting, and an alliance would have further embellished BJP’s frontrunner status. A BJP-BJD pact might have also eased Patnaik’s return to office. BJP would have got a power-sharing deal in the state too. The discussions dismayed Odisha BJP leaders as the party has emerged as the main opposition to BJD and gained adherents on that count. BJP’s ef­forts, they felt, had ensured the party, and not Congress, was the beneficiary of a decline in the BJD government’s popularity. A BJP-BJD pact could well have turned voters unhappy with the BJD government towards Congress. While it could be debated whether Congress’ diminished organisational capacity could take advantage of such an opportunity, it was evident that BJP sup­porters would have felt very let down. In the event, the BJP brass went by the views and assessments of the state unit and leaders like Pradhan heaved a sigh of relief.

Aware that Pradhan is one of BJP’s prominent names, BJD has pitted Jajpur MLA Pranab Das against him. Seen as close to the chief minister’s immediate circle, Das is a three-term legislator and has the reputation of being an energetic leader. In a hard-fought battle, Pradhan may hold the edge though, helped by his Other Backward Classes (OBC) credentials, the Modi factor and a view among voters that he would be a Central minister and, therefore, assist the region. Pradhan, however, has been steadfast in his opposition to BJD, arguing that Patnaik’s successes require a closer audit. “As many as 40 per cent of schools lack teaching staff, the student-teacher ratio is very adverse in some schools. Things should surely have been better than this. What all this means is that governance has been substandard,” he says. Turning to issues relating to irrigation, Pradhan points out that the state is blessed with major rivers even though parts of it are very dry. “Not enough thought has been given to irrigation. How to increase the availability of irrigation, how to reduce the dependence on the monsoons… all of this needed the attention that is clearly lacking. Travel a few days through Odisha and you will see this yourself.”

Pradhan drives home the point in his election meetings, asking whether a government that has been in office for 25 years should have such a poor scorecard. Asked if the people had hoped for a better deal, he cuts the question short and says “…Hope should be there in a democracy. People are not wrong in hoping…what is now being demanded of the BJD government is proof (praman) of work done. The chief minister felt the pain of these governance gaps when he was an MP. Now, he is one of the longest-serving chief ministers. What did you do? That is the question he is being asked.”

Pradhan says he is not touching any issues, save those directly connected with the lives of the people. “Drinking water, irriga­tion, health, schooling, employment. There could have been a sea change in any of these areas by now,” he says. The minister adds that industry has come to Odisha but not on a scale that could make a difference to the volume of migration as employment is scarce and limited. “Look at Surat. The city runs on the labour and skills of people from Naveen Babu’s home district. Textile is a sector that can generate employment. It can make good use of labour which we have. What has been done on this score? It is not that the factors that can support textiles are missing. Cities such as Chennai, Hyderabad, Surat, Delhi and Gurgaon host a large number of migrants from Odisha. They are working and making a living there. If they had options at home, the number of migrants would be much less. Who wants to be far from home?”

Since the Modi government assumed office in 2014, BJD has maintained its relations with the Centre, with Patnaik never joining hands with stridently anti-BJP parties. On some issues and legislations, the party supported the government, easing its problems in Rajya Sabha where it suffered a deficit for long. This saw BJD labelled as a “friendly opposition” and it has been suggested that this might have diluted BJP’s message in the state. Pradhan gives the query a thought and says, “I don’t think so. Con­gress supported the Bill providing reservations to women in the legislature. Was this a “friendly” act? The point is that parties act according to their interests and then there is nothing wrong in coming together on matters of national concern. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy has similarly supported us on certain legislations in Parliament. But we are very serious about defeating his party in the election. See, contesting and winning elections is a separate matter. Floor coordination in Parliament, coming together on certain issues—or not doing so—is another matter and should not be confused.”

THE RAINS THAT have arrived in parts of South India and coastal areas like Goa are missing in Odisha where the daytime heat is close to unbearable. Pradhan is targeting some far-flung parts of the large Sambalpur constituency which is marked by forest and hill ranges as well as flat, dry land. If BJP indeed has an opportunity to snatch a famous victory, is the BJP party machinery ready for the task? “This time round, you will see that the people are charged up. Our party has been doing its work. We have built up our organisation and are contesting the elections as best we can. But the people… it is the people who are asking questions of the chief minister. They may not all be BJP supporters, but they are voicing their grievances, asking why basic amenities are not available. There is public resentment at a mass level,” he says. The BJD government, Pradhan asserts, will pay the price for not implementing Central schemes like Ayush­man Bharat which provides medical insurance for the needy. Some state governments have not implemented Central pro­grammes, or done so partially, with the objective of preventing the Modi government from claiming political talking points. In the case of Odisha, Pradhan says, the state government has been reluctant to roll out schemes on the grounds that it has similar initiatives. “The PM Schools for Rising India [PM-SHRI] has not been implemented. All these are welfare-related schemes. The direct benefit transfers [DBT] have been stopped… The reason? If they dole it out, some palms will be greased [kuch haath garam honge]. They have stopped DBT officially,” he says. The conversa­tion turns to Congress, which is also in the fray, but Pradhan does not see much of a role for the party. “It has its pockets of influence. But the party is in the pocket of the BJD,” he says.

With time ticking on the campaign clock, Pradhan responds to a question of whether unbridled populism or extravagant spending promises might no longer achieve the traction they did, noting that the issue is one of leadership and credibility. “The op­position lacks credibility at the pan-India level. People assess who is saying what. Why is there no alternative to Modiji? Because he has worked and earned the trust of the people. It is not a simplistic case of the TINA factor. There is a solid 10-year performance and a certifiable record. People can believe the evidence of their eyes. And in Odisha’s case, they can make the comparison,” he says.

2024 Elections2024: The CountdownDharmendra PradhanGeneral election 2024Naveen PatnaikOdisha