March 1, 1999
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ORISSA Madam's Choice By foisting an inexperienced Gomang on the state, Sonia Gandhi makes it clear that like Indira Gandhi she too will retain direct control over the chief ministers. By Ruben Banerjee
In search of a leader with a squeaky clean reputation Congress chief Sonia Gandhi's options were truly limited. Even before the series of crimes and deteriorating law and order situation smeared the party image in Orissa, there was public outrage against the rampant corruption, nepotism and scams in the state administration. So when Pranab Mukherjee and Madhavrao Scindia, the two central observers overseeing the transition, met the state MLAs individually, not more than a handful of them were inclined to back Gomang. However, once Mukherjee announced that Gomang was Sonia's personal choice, the legislators fell in line. Sonia's instructions were clear: J.B. Patnaik should propose and PCC chief Hemananda Biswal should second Gomang's name in what was seen as an attempt to close ranks. As Scindia said later, "It was the best choice made under the present circumstances." A member of Parliament for eight consecutive terms, the 56-year-old Adivasi from poverty-stricken Koraput district is a political lightweight. A virtual loner, Gomang has few friends -- and fewer enemies. Despite being a minister in successive Congress governments at the Centre since 1982, he has managed to stay away from petty internal politics. As for the other aspirants, the PCC chief is also a tribal but was too deeply enmeshed in internal politicking. Similarly, deputy chief minister Basanta Biswal's undoing was his controversial image, while ministers Niranjan Patnaik and Jagannath Patnaik proved inconsequential in Sonia's scheme of things.
Expectedly, there were some grumblings over the appointment. Former chief minister Nandini Satpathy staged a walkout to protest the "undemocratic imposition" by the high command. But given the party's dwindling stock and the spectre of defeat in the assembly elections a year away, a majority of partymen agreed that Gomang's non-controversial image could provide a ray of hope. "The Congress still has a great future," claimed Gomang soon after being elected CLP leader. The Opposition, however, thinks otherwise. "With or without Gomang, the Congress is doomed in Orissa," says Naveen Patnaik, Union minister for steel and mines and chief of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD). Injecting life into an inert administration almost overnight is not going to be easy for Gomang. Though a veteran MP, he hardly has any hands-on experience in running the affairs of the state. "I will serve Orissa just the way I served Koraput all these years," he says. Given his aloofness in the state politics, the men and the administration that he is supposed to head are all alien to him. At the moment, the CLP in Orissa is split three ways -- the majority still backs the ousted Patnaik, with the two Biswals commanding support of the rest. In the wake of the diktat from 10 Janpath, the majority has to perforce give the appearance of supporting the new chief minister but at least some of the leaders, if not the legislators, bear a grudge against Gomang. While J.B. Patnaik is said to be seething at his unceremonious ouster, Hemananda Biswal is peeved at being pipped at the post. Given the changed equations in the Orissa Congress, a future tie-up of these factional enemies cannot be entirely ruled out. Though public anger against the state Government is now a little diffused following J.B. Patnaik's sacking, it is still enough to help the BJP-BJD combine win the next elections by default. Gomang's problem is that before he sets out to leave his mark in the limited time that he has, he will have to work hard to erase the one left behind by his predecessor. |
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He arrived
unannounced in a rickety Mahindra jeep in sharp contrast to the swanky Opel Astras and
Cielos of the other aspirants. But by the time the crucial Congress Legislature Party
(CLP) meeting to elect Orissa's new chief minister was over on February 15, it was clear
that it was precisely this low-profile image and modest lifestyle which won the day for
Giridhar Gomang. 
Having
appointed a Rajput as chief minister in Madhya Pradesh, a Brahmin in Delhi and a backward
in Rajasthan, the elevation of the tribal Gomang to the top post will help the party
project the right mix at the national level. But more pressing could be electoral reasons.
The Sangh Parivar is making inroads in predominantly tribal pockets and the party hopes
that a tribal chief minister will help slow the BJP's march in Orissa.
