Rivals Cry for Change in BJP Leadership

BHUBANESWAR: Nothing seems to be going right for BJP president Jual Oram. The debacle in the  Umerkote bypolls after the near rout of the party in Kendrapara municipal election has queered the pitch with rivals beginning to call for a change in leadership ahead of the panchayat elections. A majority within the BJP has blamed Oram for defeat of its nominee Dharmu Gond. His fault finding with the electronic voting machines had no takers among the rank and file. We have everything at our disposal sans unity and a sense of direction, said a senior party leader who made an extensive campaign at Umerkote. According to him, the party lost the by-poll due to sheer mismanagement and one-upmanship of Oram. The party president was so confident of winning the election single-handedly that he and his coterie did not wish to involve other senior leaders of the party in the electioneering process, he said. Election is basically fought with a strategy which was missing in the BJP. The BJD took it up seriously and virtually started the ground work from the day its sitting MLA Jagabandhu Majhi was gunned down by some unidentified assailants, the sources added.  But the State BJP leadership did not call a single meeting to discuss the by-poll. The party president took up the sole responsibility of the by-election and chose a favoured few, mostly women leaders who had little knowledge of Umerkote politics to assist him. The result is there for everyone to see, a party insider rued. The BJP leadership neither consulted senior party leaders nor sought their assistance. Although most of the senior leaders including BB Harichandan, Bijay Mohapatra, KV Singhdeo, Samir Dey and Jaynarayan Mishra went there uninvited, there was no zest in the BJP campaign, observed another leader. It was a lost opportunity. The BJP had all the advantages and the situation was favourable for it. The party nominee was the best among all the contestants. Financially, the party was sound with generous assistance coming from neighbouring Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. But it failed to capitalise on the situation, regretted the leader.‘The time has come for a complete overhaul of the leadership which has failed to deliver. They have been showcased for a long time and it is proved that they are no more saleable, remarked a party worker. It started with the humiliating defeat of the 2006 Talsara by-election when Oram’s choice Sahadev Xaxa lost to the Congress candidate Dr Prafulla Majhi. The losing streak continues.