The ruling party leaders including Patnaik himself sought votes on performance during the campaign.
What is significant is that the by-poll was widely seen as a referendum on the performance of his government which has been in power for about eight years now. The ruling party leaders including Patnaik himself sought votes on performance during the campaign.
Congress explained the thin victory margin of its candidate by pointing accusing fingers at the government. Party leaders alleged that ruling party leaders misused the official machinery and spent crores of rupees to win the bye-election.
Such allegations are often made in the wake of high voltage contests but in Laxmipur they had an altogether different meaning with Chief Minister himself campaigning in the constituency with great vigour. The defeat has shattered the myth of Patnaik's invincibility and its repercussions would be felt throughout the State.
The defeat in Laxmipur should be seen in the wider of context of Patnaik's public image and the general health of his party. Had Patnaik's image been as unassailable as his cronies would have us believe, Laxmipur would easily have been wrested from the Congress which has gone through a series of crises during the last few years.
But that is not the case. The truth is Patnaik's public image has suffered in the wake of a string of scandals hitting his government. Apart from denting his image, the phenomenon is likely to boost dissident activities within BJD.
Patnaik and his cohorts may not admit it but the resignation of former Finance Minister Panchanan Kanungo from the party following prolonged bitterness has been a setback to the party.
There is more than one reason for this. Kanungo, unlike many others who walked out of the BJD in the past, was perceived as a clean leader with no corruption charges against him. He was a thinker relying more on his cerebral qualities than a mass base to rise in politics.
He was also a rebel in the sense he made no bones about his dislike for Patnaik's chief aide and Rajya Sabha Member Pyarimohan Mohapatra who, he alleged, ran the party as he liked.
Kanungo was convinced that internal democracy in BJD was dead and spoke out against it without fear. The departure of a clean and fearless leader like him is bound to recoil on the party as Patnaik would be hard put to answering questions about him.
These are ominous signs and coming ahead of the next elections they must cause concern to the BJD leadership. Party insiders admit that the top leadership has begun to behave in a rather dictatorial fashion in the name of discipline. And discipline in the BJD means nothing more than nodding your head to whatever Patnaik or Mohapatra say.
There are those who believe that the bureaucratic touch imparted by Mohapatra to the running of the party may prove detrimental to its health in the long run.
Politicians by nature are argumentative and lack of scope for airing their views freely is bound to suffocate them. This is precisely what is happening in the BJD. But the party cannot hope to win a third consecutive term in power with this kind of an attitude.
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