On Monday, ministers and senior leaders of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) were self-congratulatory as they marked the 25th anniversary of the party’s formation. Few could grudge the celebration in Puri, as the BJD, led by the redoubtable socialite-turned-politician Naveen Patnaik, has proven every pundit wrong about its imminent demise. With five successive victories in Assembly elections and a near-invincible record in electoral politics, the BJD is arguably the most successful regional party in India.
The celebrations, however, could not mask the question on the mind of every BJD leader: who will eventually replace Mr. Patnaik as the head of the party and government? The question has been doing the rounds for the past few years and has not thrown up any convincing answers. The second-rung leadership is largely invisible in the BJD. No leader has come close to replacing him. Over the years, rumours about Mr. Patnaik’s successors have died down even before being taken seriously. Whenever this question has been posed to him, Mr. Patnaik has promptly replied that the people will choose his successor.
No serious contenders
Dynastic succession has been the easiest answer to this question in India. Parties such as the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in Tamil Nadu, the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh, the Shiromani Akali Dal in Punjab, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi in Telangana, the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra and the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal are all dynastic. Mr. Patnaik himself is carrying forward the legacy of his father, Biju Patnaik. But his elder brother, Prem Patnaik, and sister, Gita Mehta, have never shown much interest in State politics. As Mr. Patnaik is not married, the name of his nephew, Arun Patnaik, was briefly discussed in political circles and a few of his photographs were circulated in the media. But he has not emerged as a serious contender either.
In 2020, Mr. Patnaik elevated Pranab Prakash Das, three-time Jajpur MLA, to the post of organisational secretary of the BJD. However, Mr. Das has the image of being an apparatchik rather than a mass leader.
Bureaucrats have always played a key role in helping Mr. Patnaik handle governance. Pyarimohan Mohapatra, a bureaucrat-turned-politician, was Mr. Patnaik’s main adviser for a long time. In 2012, he fell from grace when after allegedly attempting a coup in the party while Mr. Patnaik was in London.
Since then, the 2000-batch Odisha cadre IAS officer, V. Karthikeyan Pandian, has been considered to be Mr. Patnaik’s closest aide. He is Private Secretary to the Chief Minister. In his role as Secretary to the Chief Minister — Transformation and Initiatives (5T), Mr. Pandian appears to have the last word in decisions relating to massive infrastructure development in the State, welfare policies, and the transformation of schools. In the last couple of years, the bureaucrat has represented Mr. Patnaik in reviewing the progress of government programmes and projects. He has been accompanying Mr. Patnaik to almost every government meeting. Further, he has apparently been overseeing Mr. Patnaik’s health regime in Naveen Niwas, the Chief Minister’s residence.
Though Mr. Pandian has kept away from sharing the stage with Mr. Patnaik in political activities, some groups within the BJD have proposed that he take up the reins from the chief. There are even fan groups of Mr. Pandian on social media crediting him for all the successes of the BJD government.
Building an image
In the absence of a natural heir, the BJD leadership has started carefully building the party’s image as that of a people’s movement. On the occasion of the silver jubilee celebrations, Mr. Patnaik urged professionals from different fields, especially the youth, to join the party. He also appealed to women to take responsibility of the party. “If the party is blessed by women, the BJD will be able to continue to serve people for 100 years, leave alone 25 or 50 years,” he said.
The question of succession is a hot topic as political analysts have cautioned the BJD not to follow the path of Tamil Nadu’s All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, which is grappling with the leadership issue after the demise of J. Jayalalithaa.
Veteran journalist Rabi Das said the BJD appears to be keeping its succession plan close to its chest. This perhaps explains the construction of the massive office in Bhubaneswar, which could serve as the party’s headquarters for several decades.
