BJD proves time and again that good and clean Governance pays

Now that Western Odisha, the so-called Congress and BJP bastion, has voted emphatically & comprehensively for the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), it is pertinent to pause and ascertain what could have led to this massive mandate of the masses.

Before I try to do that, a tabular comparison of where BJD stood vis-à-vis other political parties in Western Odisha in 2008 and where it stands today is presented herein, to highlight the magnitude and the significance of the victory.

Thumping Victory for BJD in Western Odisha

Party	2008			2013
	No. of seats won	% of seats won	No. of Chairperson post held	No. of seats won	% of seats won	No. of Chairperson post held
BJD	84	27.72	5	197	64.38	17
Congress	104	34.32	6	56	18.30	1
BJP	82	27.06	7	36	11.78	1
Others	33	10.89	2	17	5.56	1

The speculation that the much-hyped anti-incumbency factor and the lawyers’ agitation for a permanent High Court bench in the region might affect the ruling party’s performance, turned out to be a damp squib. Clearly the popularity and clean image of our exemplary CM Naveen Patnaik helped the party in romping home. On his part, the CM, in his typical modest manner, attributed it to “people’s magic”.

But the moot question is “Do voters really reward politicians for reforms and good governance?” If the results of the urban body elections in 66 civic bodies few months earlier, and in the 20 bodies in Western Odisha now are any indication, they actually do. People of Odisha have justly punished the corrupt Congress and the faction-ridden BJP in favour of the development and pro-poor BJD. While the CM has thanked the people of Western Odisha for reposing their profuse faith in him and his government, we hope that the people of Odisha will shower their love and blessings on the party in the 2014 elections, as well.

Helping rebuild Odisha isn’t a priority for the worthies in the Congress-led UPA Government.

The Cyclone Phailin is now long behind us. The deadly flood that left a trail of massive destruction and suffering is also behind us. The state government's response to the twin disasters has been exemplary. Much well-deserved praise has been heaped upon Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and his government’s bureaucrats for a crisis handled exceedingly well.

Never before in the history of India was any disaster even remotely as well handled as the ones the state witnessed. The tremendously successful preventive evacuation and other efforts by the state government, under the leadership of Sri Naveen Patnaik, stands as a testimony to what other successes may be achieved in future disasters.

Now, let us contrast this with the atrocious behaviour and shameful attitude of the Congress-led UPA Government at the Centre, in the post-cyclone days. While the state Government was occupied in relief and rehabilitation operations, senior Congress leaders and Ministers such as Mr Srikant Jena and Mr Jaipal Reddy were shamelessly claiming credit for the success, from air-conditioned Media rooms. Do these guys ever sleep peacefully at night?

A disaster is a tragedy and a crisis, irrespective of the state bearing its brunt, and the political party at the helm of the state. For the Central government, it should not matter more where a disaster struck. However, it seems that, for our Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, some lives are more important than others. Saving lives of people in Odisha and helping rebuild Odisha clearly isn’t a priority for these worthies.

This isn’t some political allegations or partisan one-upmanship. Some chilling facts and data would make it self-evident and serve as an eye-opener to the political discrimination of the UPA Government towards the state of Odisha. The management of the natural disaster by Odisha government won international acclaim for the country, compared to the shoddy handling of the same by the Congress Government in Uttarakhand. Yet, while the UPA Government had showered largesse on Uttarakhand immediately after the disaster, it continues to be indifferent to the sufferings of a poor state as Odisha.

An unfortunate disaster struck the state of Uttarakhand on the 17th June 2013, affecting about 16 lakh people, including pilgrims and tourists. The very next day both the PM and UPA chairperson visited the state, and again on the next date a relief package of Rupees 1000 crores sanctioned for the state. In the days following the tragedy, a battery of senior Central Ministers, including the Home Minister, visited the state. The state of Odisha witnessed the cyclone and its aftermath between the dates of 12 Oct- 15 Oct 2013. To make matters worse, an unprecedented flood, between 21 Oct -26 Oct 2013, paralysed the state. Almost a month has elapsed since the first tragedy, but, neither the Prime Minister nor any senior Central Minister has bothered to even visit the state. Nor has a single Rupee been sanctioned, as on date, to tackle these twin tragedies which have affected 18 districts and 2 crores people of the state.

With the Centre turning a blind-eye, the state Government, on Thursday, decided to amend the Odisha Contingency Fund (OCF) Act to increase the Fund corpus by another 1500 crore to carry on relief and restoration work in the affected areas. Odisha Government is committed to serve the people of Odisha and it shall strive to do so, no matter what.