PROSPECTIVE CM CANDIDATES-A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS With the countdown for the next election is about to begin, political parties are busy greasing their election machineries. The political air of the state is abuzz with conjectures about the prospective CM candidates and the worthiest amongst those who could give the state a visionary leadership and new direction. Each political party considers its leader as superior to his opponents, but an impartial comparison will show who could be the best choice for the post CM form the point of a layman who is apolitical. Lets start from the ruling BJD with incumbent CM Mr Naveen pattnaik and appraise if he is the right fit for the next election again or not. Working in his third term, CM Pattnaik’s achievements fall far short of the expectations of the people of the state because of the wide gap between electoral promises and their execution on the ground. Having abdicated the responsibility of governance to the bureaucrats, the CM shows a poor image to the people in the mirror of performance. His inability to learn the language of the state after 14 years, his inability to monitor the activities of various departments and his over reliance on bureaucrats has led to accountability deficit and malgovernance. The scams of Herculean magnitude reflect the CM’s lack of control over the administration and his utter helplessness in managing public affairs. Even though the populist schemes he has declared has endeared him to the masses, he draws contemptuous flaks from the urban middle class for his dispassionate and indifferent attitude to understand the real problems of the people. His inability to empathize with the common man and propensity to maintain aloofness from public life preclude him from being the true leader of men. Next comes the main opposition the congress party. Let’s assume the chief of party unit as the prospective CM for the state. Jaydev Jena , the PCC chief is no match for the manufactured brand of CM Naveen, neither does he command respect and reverence from the people of Odisha. With no charisma at all, Jena at best is the leader of a particular group in the party without any formidable support base. . His past performance is not any indicator of his potential to be a leader of substance. Jena is a very poor choice for the post of the CM. Now let’s see the case of BJP. The BJP appears to be recovering from the public embarrassment arising out of its prolonged indecision to elect its state unit head. Kanak vardhan Singhdeo, the amiable soft spoken head of the BJP state unit is yet to display any of his distinguishing moves that could show his leadership in a contrasting way than others. His acceptability amongst the masses is yet to be tested and his personal achievements in the capacity of a minister were not spectacular enough to stay in public memory on which he could have drawn to prove his uniqueness .Mr Singhdeo is yet to envisage any plan of action for development of the state. His organizational abilities have not been subjected to scrutiny as there was very little scope for this prior to his appointment as the state unit chief. Finally let’s see the case of the newly formed political party Odisha Jan Morcha and its leader Mr Pyarimohan Mohapatra’s suitability for the post of the CM. Mr Mohapatra having been in the thick of things in Odisha politics for the last 12 years and having played a crucial role in strengthening the fortress of the ruling party in the state has integrated his skills and experience in administration with the political insights he has obtained in the last 12 years to acquire the competence and image of a statesman with a profound understanding of issues having a bearing on the progress and development of the state. Mr Mohapatra’s sharp intellect, empathy with the common man’s problem, inspiring organizational skills and deft diplomatic skills combine to make him a highly potential candidate for the CM’s post. Notwithstanding his party’s performance in the next general elections, there is no denying the fact that he stands taller amongst all aspirants in terms of skill, experience and capabilities. As the contour of the political landscape is poised to see shifting of multiple anchor points, boundaries of possibilities are certain to be stretched. In the highly uncertain waters of political maneuvering, currents of opportunism may force ships of different sails to anchor on the same shore. Although it is premature to speculate who will be crowned as the next CM, yet in the standards of worthiness, Pyarimohan Mohapatra appears to be the most deserving amongst all.
Posted on: Sat, 13 Jul 2013 06:31:36 +0000
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