Bhubaneswar: Royalty may have been abolished in independent India, but the scions of former princely families continue to rule in their region via the political route. And when it comes to Odisha, the state’s poll battles sound incomplete without royal representation for decades.
Among the twelve members of various royal families in Odisha vying for votes from the common people in the upcoming Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, Pratap Keshari Deb is one of them. The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has given tickets to eight royal family members including Pratap Keshari Deb. Aul, historically, has played a defining role in Odisha politics and it’s the Pratap Keshari Deb who has shaped the political turf of the region.
Pratap Keshari Deb, a member of the Aul royal clan, is contesting the Assembly elections from the Aul constituency. An ex-member of the Rajya Sabha, he is the Energy Minister and sitting MLA from this seat.
In a tete-a-tete with the Editor-In-Chief of Ommcom News, Jajati Karan, Pratap Keshari Deb talks about his vision, strategies and challenges he is confronting in the ensuing election.
Question: Despite CM Naveen Patnaik’s popularity there is an anti-incumbency factor against the local leader in several parts of the state. What is the scenario in your constituency?
Answer: Well when you are in the government or power, there is a certain kind of anti-incumbency generated, which is a fact. Because human demand is unlimited, you cannot fulfill everyone’s demand or every work promised cannot be delivered.
Ultimately if the organisation of the party is good, and the intention of the leader is clear in front of the public, then anti-incumbency can be controlled. The same is applicable in the case of Odisha as well as my constituency.
For one year we have been working at the organizational level and have put forth our point of view in front of the public. Since we have been holding regular meetings, debates and other organisational works for the last one year, I think though anti-incumbency is though still exists; we can still work on it and convince people.
Question: Give me three reasons why the people of Aul will vote you into power for another time.
Answer: The number one reason for which people of my constituency will vote for me is that many pending works dating back to the pre-independence era, for example, panchayats like Padanipal and Ekmania where communication was a problem because they are islands panchayats. We have been able to successfully connect these areas to the mainland through the construction of bridges improving the overall connectivity. The infrastructural development is my major thrust area.
The second reason is we emphasized a lot on education through 5-T transformations of high schools and massive funding to the health infrastructure which is ongoing. Lastly, I would like to thank our honourable Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for sanctioning an important project for my constituency which is the drinking water problem which affects the entire woman population of my constituency. Though we have got three major rivers but in summer we have salinity issues in summer and floods in the monsoon due to which access to drinking water becomes a major issue. Drinking water is a constant problem. By two mega projects one in Aul and one in Kanika.
In another year every household will be connected with tap water, which will solve a lot of social problems and will be immensely for ladies of my constituency. These are the three major reasons why people will vote for me. I am confident about it.
Question: What is the biggest challenge you are facing in this election?
Answer: The biggest challenge I am facing this election is that I have to convince my people, especially the youths of my constituency what is there in the future for them. Communication, education, health, electricity, and other things including social welfare schemes are ongoing and will be taken care of.
But what about the youth? What does the educated youth do after completing their graduation, or qualifying technical courses? This needs to be addressed.
Question: Give me three important changes that you would like to bring to your constituency if you are voted back to power?
Answer: Well I have already started working on it, and that is my slogan in this election. Firstly, we are successful in getting two national highways through our constituency. One is linking Dhamra which will cross Aul and Kanika on the Cuttack-Chanwali road, second one is coming from Kuakhia to Satabhaya which will be coming through Jajpur town, Mangalpur and will cross Rajkanika Block and Kanpada market which will be like a cross-section of both the highways at one point.
For the first time, I think in the next five years we will at least have a small-scale industry in Kanika which will not only provide job opportunities to the people but also self-reliance encouraging people to invest in their opportunities.
Question: Many leaders in the BJD depend on the party organisation and their leader Naveen Patnaik, but give me your biggest personal strength which will help you in winning this election?
Answer: Well I will say two things about it; my personal strength is my communication with my party cadres and voters of the constituency which is number one. The number two reason is that I belong to a political background, my father was also a politician and my mother was also there. Therefore, association in the politics of my family for since last 40 years is definitely a big asset for me. But that will not suffice and enough unless I work for it.
So, these two combinations help me, keeping a rapport with the public and communication channels along with leaders and workers of my constituency. And the backdrop from which I come to this put together gives me a lot of strength in my constituency to my organisation.
Question: What is your opinion about your major opponent Debendra Sharma though he is not contesting this time, his daughter is contesting against you this time. Can it be an X-factor as she is a new face and people may try her out, will that be a major challenge for you?
Answer: No, it won’t be a challenge in a democratic process when you have new incumbents. It’s definitely a challenge as they come in with a fresh outlook and fresh air.
As an MLA and Minister in the government, I have done what I was supposed to do, so the onus lies on the new incumbent to convince the public that I can perform better than the present. That is only when the change can come. So far, what I see is both the new candidates from the BJP and Congress are unable to convince the public as they don’t have a point of view. So unless you put a point of view in front of the public what will they vote for?
Therefore, I don’t see any threat from them.
Question: Being a leader of the state, give us some perspective about how is the Biju Janata Dal performing across the state as the first phase of voting is over. What is the feedback you are getting across the state because BJP is claiming that they are gaining grounds at several places?
Answer: The BJP always makes tall claims in the media, there’s no doubt about it. That’s why I call it; “Bhartiya Jatara Party”. If we go logically, the first phase of polling was held in Koraput, Nabarangpur, Kalahandi, and Berhampur majority of which are tribal tracts. We are getting a 74% polling which is an all-time record till now in the fourth phase in the country. So, it is a very encouraging sign that people are coming out to vote and it implies they are voting for the government. It is a very positive sign for us and if organizationally I speak, I am on the fourth phase and the first phase is over, I think in Odisha the BJD is going to perform very well.
The God-willing Lord Jagannath has blessed Mr Naveen Patnaik since we started forming the government in 2000. Our tally has been increasing in ascending order and this time it will increase further, we will go beyond 112 seats.
