A rat swallowed a diamond and the owner of the diamond contracted a man to kill the rat. When theLet's see who survives the long rat race of power. rat hunter arrived to kill the rat there were more than a thousand rats bunched up and one sitting by itself away from the pack. He killed it and that was the exact one that had swallowed the diamond. The puzzled owner of the diamond asked - How did you know it was that rat ? He responded, "Very easy. When some folks become famous they feel that they are superior and keep away from their own !!!"
Something similar happened to Pandian, the man who not long ago was the De Facto Chief Minister of Odisha and the head of ruling Party BJD. Among the equals in the power corridors in Odisha, he was the rat who carved his niche enough to be the only one more than the equals, getting hold of Naveen Patnaik, the real diamond of the party. Since BJD's defeat, Pandian has gone underground inside a rat hole, nowhere to be seen in Odisha. Ironically less than a week ago he was in complete control of his party and the cynosure of the eyes of Naveen Patnaik, the Supreme leader of BJD, by successfully creating a hubris around him.
Part of it was due to complete submission of the so called intrepid stalwarts in his party who genuinely genuflected before Pandu. During a recent campaign event near our village which comes under Puri Parliament and Assembly constituency, Pandian was the solo star campaigner after doing a perfunctory introduction to his party's candidates. The Lok Sabha candidate who once supposedly created terror amongst criminals in Maharastra was standing with folded hands covering his private parts symbolizing he had no balls. This didn't go unnoticed by commoners in that meeting. Those few, the likes of Pradip Panigrahi and Jay Panda who had balls to protest the Bureaucrat's dominance went over to the rival BJP.
There are 101 reasons given by 501 analysts on media, social or otherwise on BJD's defeat. I don't want dwell over them, but just give one word of reason behind BJD's defeat - "Pandian". Let's cut the crap of BJD being a cadre based party. It was and still is Naveen's party, whose day to day affairs he once outsourced to Pyari. After Pyari went rouge, then Pandian became his Man Friday. Only difference, when Pyari's mutiny failed in year 2012, Naveen was still young, in his early 60s with time on his side. Now a 78 year old and more importantly visibly ailing, he had to be fully dependent on Pandian who gladly took over the reigns of both state's administration and the party .
In public meetings Pandian was seen on Naveen's side holding microphone for him, trying to hide his boss's shaking hands from public view. Politics is a matter of perception. Any "Rama, Dama, Shama" (Tom, Dick and Harry) in Odisha now has a smart phone with access to instant information which passes like lightning on the social media. BJD took full advantage of Naveen's fledgling health seen in public view and Pandian's dominance and control became an open talk. As the Odias aren't exactly famous for their so called "Asmita" (the more appropriate word would be Swabhiman), folks in charge of the admimistration filled with officers from outside the state continued to underestimate the Odias as nincompoop. But they silently retaliated in polling booths by giving 78 seats to BJP. Thanks to the mild Odias, in spite of their hatred towards Pandian, due to the personal popularity of the Chief Minister BJD still managed a respectable tally of 51 seats.
Politicians are known to make comebacks. BJP in the state of Odisha consisting of many discarded elements from the BJD and the Congress party is perfectly capable of messing up things. But it needs to be noted that Naveen Patnaik doesn't have time on his side. At 78 and ailing, even if he makes it to 2029 when the next election is due, he is unlikely to be in great physical shape. That said, a week is a long time in politics, as just vindicated by this election results. A week ago Naveen Patnaik and Pandian were in charge. Not anymore. In this context, 5 years is eons away.
Now a pariah Pandian has gone into hibernation and ran his rat hole. He has not seen in public until reported today that he has fled to Delhi. There is a saying in Hindi - "Jab Jahaz Doobta Hai To Pehle Choohe Bhagte Hain" (Rats are the first to jump off a sinking ship). It may not be a surprise if Pandian commences the exodus from BJD. More will follow, as I have a feeling this is the beginning of the end of BJD in its current form. Tighten your seat belts and enjoy the upcoming roller coaster drive. Let's see who survives the long rat race for power.
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