Enemies make you stronger, allies make you weaker' -- Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate L K Advani must have read this front-page quotation today in a daily in New Delhi.
On March 5, Biju Janata Dal chief and Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik broke ties with Advani-led National Democratic Alliance and the Bharatiya Janata Party. Nobody from the NDA or the BJP had anticipated this ex-parte divorce. In one stroke, NDA has lost probably around 8 to 10 seats from its coffers.
On March 11, the Naveen Patnaik-led government faces a trust vote in the state assembly. If at all the Congress abstains to save the BJD government, it will be obvious that Patnaik's move is well-designed and well thought out.
However, the euphoria of the Left over Patnaik leaving BJP's side is laughable because Patnaik can never be Left-oriented and does not want Left politics in the state.
His development plans are fiercely opposed by politburo member Sitaram Yechury's party (Communist Party of India-Marxist) in Paradip where a 12 million ton steel plant has been allotted to POSCO.
The image of Yechury's handshake with Patnaik on primetime television and on newspaper front pages is quite phoney considering that in Orissa the CPI-M has 0.77% of votes while the outsmarted BJP has around 18% vote share.
In Orissa, the Congress is a formidable force but the BJD and BJP combination had been countering it successfully. Now, the BJD thinks it is in a position to take on the Congress by itself. Patnaik's jolt to NDA is a huge psychological victory for the United Progressive Alliance, by default or by design.
Patnaik, whose party is the result of anti-Congress politics, is finding many supporters even in the enemy camp.
The level of political judgment of the BJP with respect to one of its most-dependable and steady allies was so pathetic that on the day the Orissa chief minister snapped the 11-year-old tie-up, BJP leader K V Singhdeo had published a column in RSS mouthpiece Organiser, hailing the alliance as 'pride of Orissa and envy for Opposition'.
Instead, BJP leaders focused more on Maharashtra where Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray was slipping away towards Sharad Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party. With great difficulty, party managers managed to bring him back to the table.
Prasanna Acharya, BJD leader from Sambalpur, Orissa, defends Patnaik and his party. He tells rediff.com, "Nothing is static in politics. BJP should know that things are always fluid in politics."
Swapan Dasgupta, political thinker and a good friend of Patnaik, says, "Atmospherics between the two parties were soured. The BJP did not take into account ground realties."
Last month, BJD won handsomely in all the urban local elections -- winning two-third majority while BJP candidates, at most places, stood third. Equipped with the victory in the local elections, the BJD went for the kill.
On March 5, Biju Janata Dal chief and Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik broke ties with Advani-led National Democratic Alliance and the Bharatiya Janata Party. Nobody from the NDA or the BJP had anticipated this ex-parte divorce. In one stroke, NDA has lost probably around 8 to 10 seats from its coffers.
On March 11, the Naveen Patnaik-led government faces a trust vote in the state assembly. If at all the Congress abstains to save the BJD government, it will be obvious that Patnaik's move is well-designed and well thought out.
However, the euphoria of the Left over Patnaik leaving BJP's side is laughable because Patnaik can never be Left-oriented and does not want Left politics in the state.
His development plans are fiercely opposed by politburo member Sitaram Yechury's party (Communist Party of India-Marxist) in Paradip where a 12 million ton steel plant has been allotted to POSCO.
The image of Yechury's handshake with Patnaik on primetime television and on newspaper front pages is quite phoney considering that in Orissa the CPI-M has 0.77% of votes while the outsmarted BJP has around 18% vote share.
In Orissa, the Congress is a formidable force but the BJD and BJP combination had been countering it successfully. Now, the BJD thinks it is in a position to take on the Congress by itself. Patnaik's jolt to NDA is a huge psychological victory for the United Progressive Alliance, by default or by design.
Patnaik, whose party is the result of anti-Congress politics, is finding many supporters even in the enemy camp.
The level of political judgment of the BJP with respect to one of its most-dependable and steady allies was so pathetic that on the day the Orissa chief minister snapped the 11-year-old tie-up, BJP leader K V Singhdeo had published a column in RSS mouthpiece Organiser, hailing the alliance as 'pride of Orissa and envy for Opposition'.
Instead, BJP leaders focused more on Maharashtra where Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray was slipping away towards Sharad Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party. With great difficulty, party managers managed to bring him back to the table.
Prasanna Acharya, BJD leader from Sambalpur, Orissa, defends Patnaik and his party. He tells rediff.com, "Nothing is static in politics. BJP should know that things are always fluid in politics."
Swapan Dasgupta, political thinker and a good friend of Patnaik, says, "Atmospherics between the two parties were soured. The BJP did not take into account ground realties."
Last month, BJD won handsomely in all the urban local elections -- winning two-third majority while BJP candidates, at most places, stood third. Equipped with the victory in the local elections, the BJD went for the kill.
Article Source:http://news.rediff.com/special/2009/mar/11/guest-naveen-patnaik-master-stroke-in-orissa.htm
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