In the early hours of 21 April 2015, I was shocked to hear of the sad
demise of Janaki Ballabh Patnaik. Ever
since, I have tried to console myself; after all death is the ultimate truth
and “JB” as fondly known in the political circle lived a full and successful
life; but it has been difficult, rather impossible to reconcile. He was a
mentor, a friend-philosopher-guide, guardian and much more to me and to the
people of Odisha and the loss will always remain irreparable. His death has left
behind the feeling of a deep void within.
The outpouring of grief on the streets of Odisha bears testimony to
the great-man’s legacy. He was truly a multi-faceted personality: eminent
journalist, newspaper editor, political leader, literary giant and a
spokesperson for Odisha’s culture and heritage and much has been said in the
last few days highlighting these different facets. I will look at JB’s political contribution in
course of this write up.
Among the crowd of the grieving one could hardly not feel the deep
sadness and sense of loss felt by the workers, leaders and supporters of the
Congress Party. All the last three elections that Congress Party has won in
Odisha were fought under JB’s leadership. The leaders who followed him could
not repeat JB’s electoral success or make the party as strong and credible. The
sense of nostalgia is palpable. JB was the ultimate party patriarch. He knew
thousands of workers and leaders up to Panchayat level. His encyclopedic memory
and understanding of grassroots situations meant that leaders could talk to him
and immediately find a resonance. Always humble, polite and receptive, he
stayed connected to the workers through thick and thin, built a formidable
party organization and could never be replaced and can never be replaced. JB’s
death gave an occasion for the Congress workers to express their gratitude and reciprocate.
I could see the gratitude in the eyes of thousands of Congress
leaders, even those who may not have spared an opportunity to traduce the great
soul. Let me look back a little beyond into history to explain how I understand
the context of his emergence and his true contribution to the Congress Party.
In 1967 Odisha became the second state in India to elect a
non-Congress Government. How did that take place? First came the resignation of
Biju Patnaik under the Kamraj Plan and Biren Mitra became Chief Minister, then
student agitation and allegation of corruption against the Biju-Biren duo. In
the next few years many stalwarts of the Party in the state started drifting
away from the Congress. For a while some of them under Biju floated Utkal
Congress. Finally Nandini Devi became Chief Minister in 1972 after Biswanath
Das and won the election in 1973, but she also left Congress after the
emergency. Till JB became Chief Minister, no Chief Minister had completed a full
five years term including Harekrushna Mahatab and Biju Patnaik. If one leader
was made the Chief Minister, the rest ganged up; there was perennial power
struggle within the Congress Party and political stability looked illusive. So,
the fact that JB completed a full term in his first term (1980-1985) surprised
pundits.
Anti-Congressism is not unknown to Odisha. Before creation of the
modern state of Odisha on 1 April 1936 many in Odisha had felt that the Indian
National Congress was too much under the control of Bengal leaders and
therefore not willing to fully back and sympathize with the demand for a
separate Odisha state. In the years after independence Congress enjoyed a
virtual monopoly in the country and represented the national consensus. But,
soon after Nehru’s death Congress started losing its monopoly and Kerala
elected the communist government of E.M.S. Namboodripad, followed by Odisha.
Swatantra Party consisting of rulers of former princely states mustered
significant influence at a time when the public mood was against the Biju-Biren
led Congress Party and Rajendra Narayan Singhdeo, a former Maharaja of Bolangir
became the first non-Congress Chief Minister in 1967. By 1971 Mrs Indira Gandhi
had established herself as the most popular leader in the country. She
particularly held sway among the poor, adivasis and dalits. This then became
the source of revival of the Congress Party in Odisha. Mrs Gandhi brought in
Nandini Satpathy in 1972 as the new face to lead the Congress. However,
anti-Congressism remained alive and grew during emergency. After the emergency
Mrs Satpathy left the Congress and the party was again in search of a new
leader. JB became the face Congress in Odisha since 1980, the longest that any leader
could maintain such a position in the Congress Party in Odisha.
Political development in Odisha from 1964, i.e. Kamraj Plan and a
strong sense of regional aspiration since the movement to create a separate
state of Odisha on linguistic basis have ensured the emergence of a very strong
anti-Congressim, particularly in coastal Odisha districts. These developments
also created strong leaders opposing the Congress. Congress is not a regional
party. The party’s functioning, whether in Government or outside, always gives
rise to a group of dissidents. Ultimately, the final decision is always with
the High Command and the dissidents were not infrequent visitors to Delhi. So,
as the leader in-charge of the state unit JB had to deal with dissidents within
the Party and a strong and vocal opposition outside the Party. This is why his
political success was truly remarkable. He had to weather many storms to stay
afloat.
JB became successful because he was a democrat and deeply
intellectual. He tolerated opposition within the Party and outside. He had
great administrative skills and great skills in floor management. Speaking in
impeccable Odia, JB would defend the Government astutely and with great
intellectual skill against bitter attack from a formidable opposition.
JB’s political legacy must be assessed in the context of his times.
Here was a leader who withstood opposition within and without and persisted
with an agenda of governance and development. He knew that the opposition was
formidable, the circumstances adversarial and yet he maintained composure and
kept persisting. I believe that JB’s success was inspired by a deep
philosophical understanding of life derived from his reading of Hindu
scriptures and unshakable faith in God and destiny. In that sense JB as a
literary giant and JB as a great political leader are indistinguishable.
Without formidable intellect and brilliance, he would not have been half as
successful.
In my understanding JB was the most talented political leader that
Odisha has produced, sad that the state did not benefit more from his
commitment to the development of state.
The life of any great political leader is equally a reflection on
the contemporaneous history and that is how I look back at JB’s contribution as
a political leader. An era has ended. Congress Party will have to come to terms
with the outpouring of emotions on the streets of Odisha by deciphering the
meaning from the grief, from the tears and the chants of JB Patnaik…Amar Rahe….
What did JB mean to the ordinary Congress workers and how do they look at JB’s
legacy? And what message do they have for the leaders and the Party?
His wise counsel will no longer be available to the Congress Party.
