Subhas Chandra Pattanayak
Voting in Padmapur by-election ended last evening with more than 81% of the highly motovated people using the EVMs to support their respective candidates notwithstanding inluences exerted by the rivals.
The electioneering was as unprecedented as is the casting of votes.
The Congress Party has no cadre; but it has certainly a committed section of citizenry that stand with the party candidate come what may. Some apprehend that sensing defeat, the Congress supporters might have prefered whosoever to their perception appeared winning. I do not subscribe to this suspicion. The Congress candidate may not win, but the counting would show that the consious Congress supporters have stood with their party, despite discernible certainty that the candidate cannot win.
Thus, probably the winner would be either from the BJD or from the BJP.
But, whosoever wins, Naveen would be in deep dilemma.
If BJP wins, even though it would be more a victory of Pradeep Purohit than that of BJP, the Party that is groping in dark about the mindset of the secular-by-birth Oriyas, would gain enough moral strength from this to challenge Naveen’s autocratic position in the election-2024. And, that would draft Naveen into predicament.
If the lady candidate of BJD wins, the aspiring women pampered through Mission Shakti would find 2024 a gateway to enter into the Assembly. As we have already predicted, BJD will plant lady candidates in more than 50% of the Assembly constituencies, almost all of whom would be drawn from the Mission Shakti sector.
To these ladies,whom Mr. Pandian shall issue the tickets of BJD, if they win, Mrs. Pandian would appear more acceptable than Sri Naveen Patnaik.
Either way, Naveen would be in a political quagmire, which he has not yet even imagined.