___________

(Note to readers: Please make your own prediction. Also, if you see any other newspaper making a prediction, please give us a link. Thanks.)

Sarat Pattanayak in his Capital notes in Pioneer:

The BJD, they predict, will emerge as the single largest party with 60 to 65 seats. The Congress will get 50 to 55 seats and the BJP will have 15 to 20 seats.

Sanjeev Patro in his article in expressbuzz.com:

The final tally could be somewhat like this. The INC might muster 50, BJD slip to 56-58 seats and BJP get around 25 seats and others including JMM, Independents and Left parties between 13-16 seats.

NDTV’s prediction  about the MPs after the second phase of elections, which it calls as trends emerging:

NDA – 3, Congress – 10 and Third Front (including BJD) – 8

NDTV’s Gfk Mode opinion Poll:

NDA : 2-4, Congress: 7-9 and Third Front (including BJD) – 9-11

Times of India reports on BJD strategist and Rajya Sabha MP Pyari babu’s estimates for BJD. Following are some excerpts:

"We are getting a minimum of 85 Assembly and 12 Lok Sabha seats. There cannot be any dispute on this figure," BJD Rajya Sabha MP and party’s chief poll strategist Pyari Mohan Mohapatra told TOI. …

The numbers refuse to go below 85. This includes 38 from constituencies that went to polls in the first phase and 47 from those in the second phase," he asserted.

Mohapatra even predicted the "possibility of the number of seats going up further". "In at least 33 Assembly constituencies, BJD has a 50 per cent chance. Anything can happen," he said.

Mohapatra has all bad news for his "enemy" Bijay Mohapatra, who fought from his traditional Patkura Assembly constituency on BJP ticket. "He is losing. The margin could be 7,000 to 8,000 votes this time," he said emphatically. "Had Bijay Mohapatra contested as an Independent, we would have been in trouble. But things became easier for us after he joined BJP," he observed. He had the similar prediction for BJP’s Puri LS candidate Braja Kishore Tripathy, who quit BJD after Naveen Patnaik gave the ticket to Pinaki Mishra, who left Congress. "Tripathy would be defeated," he claimed. "We will bag 12 LS seats. This could also go up because in Berhampur, Koraput and Jajpur anything may happen," he added.

Mohapatra did not sound very optimistic about BJP‘s performance and said the saffron brigade might have to content with less than 15 Assembly seats. "My reading is that if the BJP is reduced to single digit the Congress tally could go up to 45," pointed out.

Mohapatra had his reasons behind the likely victory of his party. "The BJP fought the elections on a negative note of constantly criticizing BJD as a traitor. It might work for a few days, but not always. The party had also no chief ministerial candidate to project before the voters. The Congress had the same problem and it remained embroiled in its own problems wasting much of its time. But we were far ahead in making preparations. Naveen Patnaik is our sole star attraction whom the voters see as transparent and clean. And there was the Rs two rice and concrete roads to villages made us invincible," he maintained, adding "The body language of people attending our meetings gave firm indications that we are going to turn the table on others." 

Following is from a report in farminguk.com.

The large poultry farm meant for research and promotion of poultry farming in south Orissa had been closed down due to management problems. It was revived and modernised with Central aid. It would serve as a major breeding farm in south Orissa. The chicks produced in this poultry farm would be sold to poultry farmers of Ganjam, Gajapati, Kandhamal and Nayagarh districts.

The Regional Poultry Farm is ready to start its sale of newly-hatched chicks from 29 April. … The farm has decided to specialize in breeding ’Banraj’ breed of poultry. The head of the farm, G.Naresh Kumar informed that at present the animal husbandry department is promoting this breed among rural poultry farmers.

The Banraj breed is being promoted to cash on the market of organic chickens of traditional breeds, which are still grown in large numbers in rural areas in an unorganised manner. The traditional breeds are slow growing yet they have a good market and fetch good price in market. It may be noted that similar poultry farms of the State government at Chiplima, Angul, Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, Sundergarh, Bolangir, Semiliguda and Koraput are also being modernised to meet the increasing need of poultry products in Orissa.

The Government of India has a Department of Animal Husbandry and Diarying under its ministry of Agriculture. That Department has the following sub-ordinating offices, of which three are in Orissa. Orissa should try to get a Fisheries division office.

I. Animal Husbandry Division

1. # Central Cattle Breeding Farm, P.O. Dhamrod, District Surat, Gujarat.
2. # Central Cattle Breeding Farm, Andesh Nagar, District Lakhimpur, (UP).
3. # Central Cattle Breeding Farm, Similiguda, P.O. Sunabada (Koraput) Orissa.
4. # Central Cattle Breeding Farm, Suratgarh (Rajasthan).
5. # Central Cattle Breeding Farm, Chiplima, P.O. Basantpur, District Samalpur, (Orissa).
6. # Central Cattle Breeding Farm, Avadi, Alamadhi (Madras).
7. # Central Cattle Breeding Farm,P.O. Hessarghatta, Bangalore North.
8. # Central Frozen Semen Production and Training Institute, Hessarghatta, Bangalore North.
9. # Central Herd Registration Unit, W-15, Jagdish Colony, Rohtak (Haryana).
10. # Central Herd Registration Unit, W-34, G.N.M. Colony, Christian Ganj, Ajmer – 305 001.
11. # Central Herd Registration Unit, 10, Gautam Vihar, Cooperative Society Building, Usmanpura, Ahmedabad.
12. # Central Herd Registration Unit, Santhapat, Ongole 523 001, District Prakasam (A.P.)
13. # Regional Station for Forage Production & Demonstration, P.O. Netaji Subhash Sanitorium, Kalyani, Distt Nadia (W Bengal).
14. # Regional Station for Forage Production & Demonstration, 48, Rajbagh (Extension) Srinagar (J&K).
15. # Regional Station for Forage Production & Demonstration, Suratgarh (Rajasthan).
16. # Regional Station for Forage Production & Demonstration, P.O. Textile Mill Hissar (Ha ryana)_.
17. # Regional Station for Forage Production & Demonstration, GA 128/2, Sector No. 30, Gandhinagar, (Gujarat).
18. # Regional Station For Forage Production & Demonstration, Avadi, Alamadhi, (Madras)-600052.
19. # Regional Station for Forage Production & Demonstration, Mamidipally, Via Keshavagiri, Hyderabad – 500005.
20. # Central Fodder Seed Production Farm, Hessarghatta, Bangalore North.
21. # Animal Quarantine & Certification Service Station, Delhi -Gurgaon Road, Kapashera Village, New Delhi.
22. # Animal Quarantine & Certification Service Station, Velachary Main Road, P.O. Pallikarni Village, Madras – 601 302.
23. # Animal Quarantine & Certification Service Station, Village Gopalpur, P.O. Gopalpur, Distt Choubis parganas (W Bengal).
24. # Animal Quarantine & Certification Service Station, Bombay – 400 065.
25. # Central Sheep Breeding Farm, P.O. Box No. 10, Hissar – 125 001 (Haryana).
26. # Central Poultry Development Organization, Southern Region, Hessarghatta, Bangalore North.
27. # Central Poultry Development Organization, Eastern Region, Bhubaneshwar.
28. # Central Poultry Development Organization, Western Region, Aarey Milk Colony, Mumbai.
29. # Central Poultry Development Organization, Northern Region, Industial Area Chandigarh.
30. # Random Sample Poultry Performance Testing Centre, 69/4, Urban Estate, Gurgaon (Haryana).

II Dairy Development Division

1. # Delhi Milk Scheme, West Patel Nagar, New Delhi.

III Fisheries Division

1. # Central Institute of Coastal Engineering For Fishery, Bangalore
2. # Central Institute of Fisheries Nautical and Engineering Training, Cochin.
3. # Integrated Fisheries Project, Cochin.
4. # Fisheries Survey of India, Mumbai.
5. # Aquaculture Authority, Chennai.

Orissa state water and sanitation mission has advertised a hotline where people can call if their village water system or tubewell has a problem or if someone wants to know more about installing their own private latrine. Following is the ad that appeared in Dharitri.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Hindu.

The broad gauge railway line between Naupada and Parlakhemundi, a long-cherished dream of people in parts of Srikakulam and Gajapthi districts, is ready and the mandatory trial run of train on this 40 km new rail track, which was postponed because of election code, will be carried out anytime after April 23.

…

The 40 km. stretch between Naupada and Parlakhemundi is part of gauge conversion project between Naupada and Gunupur covering a total distance of about 90 km.

According to authorities concerned, the trial run would be followed by introduction of departmental trains and heavy duty machines. Then the Commissioner of Railway Safety, an independent authority with headquarters at Kolkata, would issue clearance for running regular passenger trains. The total cost of the project was Rs.168 crores and so far Rs.120 crores had been spent. The remaining work between Parlakhemundi and Gunupur is also progressing well and is likely to be completed soon.

Work on major bridges in this stretch had already been completed. According to authorities, linking work is likely to be completed by June. There is some problem in procuring ballasts for this track. However, authorities are confident of overcoming this.

The Orissa government should push for a passenger train in this line to be included in the new budget.

The interview is at http://election.rediff.com/interview/2009/apr/22/loksabhapolls-its-very-important-india-has-a-strong-government.htm. I mostly agree with Sam Pitroda’s views. At the state level, now that Naveen Patnaik has ruled out supporting a Congrees led government, I hope he has enough MPs that he is not ignored by the center and at the same time there are a good number of Congress MPs so that the Congress MPs have a voice as well as a decent representation in the central ministry. A split of 12-13 BJD and 8-9 Congress MPs may work. (Earlier in http://www.orissalinks.com/orissagrowth/archives/2036 I had suggested that more BJD MPs would be good for Orissa. But at that time, my view was BJD giving support to a UPA government in Delhi. Without that support, more Congress MPs would be better for Orissa. Hence the current thought that with a UPA government in Delhi, 12-13 BJD MPs and 8-9 Congress MPs would be good for Orissa.)

Following are some excerpts from the Rediff interview.

Specifically, what’s been so great about the Manmohan Singh government?

Manmohan Singh has done a tremendous job under the circumstances. In the last five years, a lot of new initiatives were taken and the right seeds were planted, whether it has to do with employment guarantee schemes — which is working very well and we need to expand that — or right to education, right to information, nuclear policy — there were a lot of big initiatives.

Now, we need to continue the unfinished agenda. And, we can’t really do all of that if we have a weak government with a lot of conflicting priorities and coalitions. We have learnt that in the last five years.

I give them a lot of credit that we could last for five years. It required a great deal of maneuvering with the various factions of the coalition, for them to continue for five years. So, the first thing, it is very important that the Indian people elect a government that is stable, that looks at the future growth prospects, capitalises on the financial crisis world over and also plays an important role in the global security scenario. 

… The Commission has brought out reports with a slew of recommendations and set forth an agenda.

We have set the agenda and now we need to implement them. And a weak government cannot implement any of these things.

You are convinced that these will be implemented if there is a second term for the Dr Singh government?

It is guaranteed. The prime minister is totally committed to implementing the Knowledge Commission’s recommendations. President Pratibha Patil [Images] just inaugurated the knowledge network to connect all our universities, all our laboratories, all our R&D institutions — to gigabyte bandwidth, broadband network. It is going to cost us $2.3 billion. It is already in the works. That’s going to transform Indian education, Indian R&D. So, we have some very ambitious programmes and Manmohan Singh has planted the seeds and now we need to continue.

Following is from a report in Business Standard.

The joint venture (JV) Company formed between the state owned Orissa Mining Corporation (OMC) and Sterlite Industries India Ltd (SIIL) for mining of bauxite in the Niyamagiri hills in Kalahandi district will be incorporated as a Private Limited Company soon.

.. “The draft memorandum of association (MoA) and Articles of Association (AoA) of the new company has been submitted to OMC for approval. The incorporation of the JV company will be completed shortly after the approval”, P K Panda, vice-president (mines), Vedanta Aluminium Ltd.(VAL) told Business Standard.

The process of incorporation of the Joint Venture company named as “South-West Orissa Bauxite Mining Private Ltd.” has been set in motion after the signing of the modified JV agreement between SIIL and OMC in February this year, paving the way for start of bauxite mining in Niyamgiri hills near Lanjigarh.

Meanwhile, the special purpose vehicle (SPV) namely ‘Lanjigarh Scheduled Area Foundation’ has already been formed and SIIL has deposited Rs 20 crore up to 2008-09 with the SPV for overseeing the all-round development in the Lanjigarh area.

Supreme Court in its judgement on 8 August 2008 cleared mining of bauxite in the Niyamgiri hills located in the Kalahandi district by SIIL following affidavits filed by SIIL, OMC and Orissa government accepting the rehabilitation package suggested by it on 23 November 2007.

While the company has deposited Rs 12 crore for tribal development, another Rs 10 crore is proposed to be deposited with the SPV during 2009-10. As part of its plan for the overall development of the area, the company also intends to provide connectivity to all the villages of Dongria Kandh, which are remotely located.

This is in line with the 5-year development plan drawn up for these villages by the Dongria Kandh Development Authority (DKDA).

Regarding the JV agreement of Vedanta Aluminium Limited (VAL) with OMC for getting the raw material linkage, the apex court had stated that since Vedanta Resources Plc is not an indian company, it will not have any objection if the its indian subsidiary (SIIL) is made the JV partner of OMC.All provisions of the supreme court judgement were incorporated in the modified JV agreement signed by OMC and SIIL

It may be noted, VAL, a Sterlite group company, signed the JV agreement with the OMC on 5 October 2004, for developing bauxite mines at the Niyamgiri hill near Lanjigarh in Kalahandi district and the Khambasi hill in the adjoining Rayagada district. The bauxite was to be used for use in its one million tonne alumina refinery at Lanjigarh.

Part 1 of Interview.

Part 2 of Interview.

Part 3 of Interview.

Part 4 of Interview.

The transcript is at http://ibnlive.in.com/news/comparing-me-with-modi-unbelievable-patnaik/90629-37.html. Following are some key excerpts.

Karan Thapar: Chief Minister, the polls are suggesting that you might be in a position to form a government on your own in Orissa after the elections. Half way through the voting with just one more round left, are you confident?

Naveen Patnaik: As a matter of fact, I am confident. I think with the blessings of the people of my state the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) is certainly coming through with a single majority. The party is having its own majority both to form a state government and to send a number of MPs to the Lok Sabha.

Karan Thapar: But on the question of the Lok Sabha, the problem is that the same polls are suggesting that you are going to end up with fewer seats than you had in 2004. Now can you accept that?

Naveen Patnaik: No, I don’t think so. It is possible because at that time we were fighting only 12 seats and out of them we got 11 and this time we are fighting 18 seats, I expect to do much-much better this time.

…

Naveen Patnaik: It was important to break up with the BJP because I don’t consider them healthy any longer for my state after Kandhamal – which I think is very apparent to everyone. Before Kandhamal, we were lucky in the early years of the state government not to have a serious communal problem at all. But Kandhamal was very tragic and serious.

Karan Thapar: So, you are saying that after Kandhamal you couldn’t have continued with the BJP in any circumstances?

Naveen Patnaik: It had become very, very difficult.

Karan Thapar: You hold the BJP and their associated allies responsible for what happened in Kandhamal?

Naveen Patnaik: When you interviewed me a few months ago about Kandhamal, I made it very clear that our administration had arrested a number of persons who belong to their sister organisations for the violence in Kandhamal.

Karan Thapar: I want very much to talk about your relationship with the BJP and why it ended in the way it did but first let us concentrate on the elections. If you don’t get an outright majority in the Vidhan Sabha, then you might look at the BJP for the extra seats that you need?

Naveen Patnaik: That will never happen; that we have already clarified.

Karan Thapar: In which case if you don’t get a majority on your own will you form a minority government or prefer to sit in the Opposition?

Naveen Patnaik: Well, I don’t doubt for a moment that my party will clear majority by itself.

Karan Thapar: That is your confidence but if you don’t then?

Naveen Patnaik: As a matter of fact, I haven’t thought about it at all.

Karan Thapar: So, you are ruling out the possibility of sitting in the Opposition?

Naveen Patnaik: In a democracy every party has to sit in the Opposition one time or the other.

Karan Thapar: So, even though you are denying it, you are mentally prepared for that possibility?

Naveen Patnaik: I don’t think that eventuality is a possibility in this election at all.

Karan Thapar: That the election will tell us in just four weeks time. Let’s come to the Centre. You have repeatedly said you will support a non-Congress and a non-BJP government, so does that mean that you are going to support the Third Front?

Naveen Patnaik: The BJD will not support a Congress-led government or a BJP-led government.

Karan Thapar: You have laid a lot of emphasis on the word ‘led’ so could you support a government in which the Congress and the BJP are a part but not in the leadership position?

Naveen Patnaik: Well, I see a situation which is very fluid at the moment as far as the Lok Sabha elections are concerned.

I perceive that the two national parties (the BJP and the Congress) shrinking even further in the numbers to what they have been in the recent past and there is a possibility of another force – call it a Third Front or a Fourth Front or any front – coming up.

And the interest of my party is to support a government which would fulfill the just demands of my state which have been neglected by the Central Government perpetually.

…

Karan Thapar: Let me approach it a bit differently. You have made it clear that there is no way you can support Manmohan Singh for another term as the Prime Minister of India but if it were to emerge that Sharad Pawar, with whom you have a seat-sharing arrangement in Orissa, could be a possible prime minister would the BJD support Sharad Pawar?

Naveen Patnaik: We can certainly look into that with a great level of possibility.

Karan Thapar: What does that mean?

Naveen Patnaik: It means what I have said. I assume or I think that there will be a government which will not be led by the Congress or the BJP.

Karan Thapar: But if it is led by Sharad Pawar, would you support it?

Naveen Patnaik: Let us put names aside. I have said it earlier and I repeat that the BJD’s interest is in supporting a government which will fulfill the just demand of my state. Orissa has been neglected for ages by the Central Government.

…

Karan Thapar: Let’s talk about the end of your 11-year alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party. So far you have told the world that this alliance ended because the two parties couldn’t agree on certain seat-adjustments for the future. But beyond that, to what extent had you begun to feel suffocated by the BJP’s anti-minority ideology?

Naveen Patnaik: Well, as you know, a few months ago when Kandhamal took place, it was very disturbing and very worrying. It was horrifying what happened and ever since then the unease began between my party and the Bharatiya Janata Party.

It had been there earlier too because they hadn’t been the most honest of allies. In various elections they would try to undercut my party, but those are minor things in comparison to what happened in Kandhamal and its aftermath.

Karan Thapar: So Kandhamal in a sense was a breaking point for you.

Naveen Patnaik: Yes indeed, and their behaviour as allies within the Assembly and outside it was incorrect in many ways.

Karan Thapar: When Kandhamal happened, the urban-middle classes began to compare you with Narendra Modi. Some people even called you a second Narendra Modi. Did that upset, even hurt you?

Naveen Patnaik: I would never personally consider myself anything like that. I think in a secular manner, I have a secular background, so I never consider that as a correct allegation.

Karan Thapar: Which means that the comparison with Narendra Modi must have been deeply hurtful.

Naveen Patnaik: I found it just unbelievable, that is all.

Karan Thapar: When I interviewed you just after what happened in Kandhamal, you said to me that every single bone in your body was secular. Would you say today that the break with BJP proves that to be the case?

Naveen Patnaik: What would you say Karan? You have known me all my life.

Karan Thapar: I would say that is the case.

Naveen Patnaik: Thank you.

Karan Thapar: Was it done with that in mind?

Naveen Patnaik: One always stands by one’s beliefs in the end, don’t you think? Or one should stand by one’s beliefs.

Karan Thapar: Many would say that it took Naveen Patnaik nine years to stand up to his belief. Those who know you have always known that you were secular, that you were liberal and that you were modern.

They were astounded to know that you actually had an alliance with the BJP and that it lasted for so long. Why did it take you so long to stand up for your beliefs?

Naveen Patnaik: You’ll have seen that for the last dozen years, the BJP has a number of secular allies. You can think of Mamata Banerjee, Hegde, Farooq Abdullah, George Fernandes or even Nitish Kumar – they have a number of secular allies.

And in Orissa, we were fortunate enough that during the first eight years of my tenure there were no serious communal incidents. It’s not till Kandhamal happened that the whole picture changed.

Karan Thapar: People say that the whole problem you had over seat adjustments was in fact deliberately manufactured by you as a way of ensuring that the alliance would end and this is proven by the fact that when you made them an offer which you could live it, it was–even as you described it in your own words–a deliberately humiliating offer because you knew they would not accept it.

Naveen Patnaik: I have never called it in my own words, ‘a deliberately humiliating offer’.

Karan Thapar: (BJP MP) Chandan Mitra said you did.

Naveen Patnaik: Well then I don’t know what he is talking about.

Karan Thapar: But did you deliberately offer a derisory number of seats so as to force the alliance apart?

Naveen Patnaik: No, I think my offer was pretty realistic for they really could not afford to stand for more than a few seats because their whole period in the state government marked quite a lot of incompetence.

The people of Orissa are a peace-loving people and I think that they had gone off the BJP after Kandhamal, and you will see that after the results in the coming election, the results that come out on May 16.

…

Had you been in touch with the Left parties and the NCP and had they given you some understanding or assurance that if you did break with the BJP, they would be there to stand behind and beside you?

Naveen Patnaik: Well Karan, you may look at the other side of the picture. They could have found me rather than me finding them, the new seat-adjustment partner parties.

…

Karan Thapar: Absolutely. But let me get back to this more serious point. Had you been in touch, had you sent out feelers to the NCP and the Left?

Naveen Patnaik: In politics of course, as you know, one meets friends from all parties and we all air our points of view. We moved very swiftly once the alliance broke down. Our new friends very quickly offered their support for which I am very grateful.

Karan Thapar: If I read you correctly, then you had been in touch with them – perhaps quietly, perhaps surreptitiously – but you had a sense of assurance that they would be there.

Naveen Patnaik: Nothing surreptitious about it at all. It’s all quite clear.

Karan Thapar: Done quite openly?

Naveen Patnaik: I think Karan sometimes you will see things in black and white. Things are sometimes a bit more subtle than that.

…

Naveen Patnaik: I don’t think it is as simple as that. It is a straight, clear-cut seat-adjustment with three parties – the CPI, the CPM and the NCP.

…

Karan Thapar: If you win, will this be your last term as Chief Minister or having finished then 14 years in office would you want a fourth term?

Naveen Patnaik: Let’s see how it goes.

Karan Thapar: You mean you could be hungry for more?

Naveen Patnaik: I think that as long as – and you may think this is a very hackneyed or cliché way of speaking – but as long as one is interested and can do good and the people wish to elect you, then there is no harm in that at all.

This was a tricky interview and Naveen Patnaik and BJD may get a bit cornered by one answer of this interview. By saying out clearly and loudly that BJD will not support either Congress led or BJP led governments, it limits their post-election options, especially since Naveen Patnaik often stands by his words. On the face of it this may seem damaging to Orissa’s cause if BJP or Congress do lead but either coalition will be fragile enough that they will not be able to ignore what a BJD led government in Orissa will demand. (On the other hand if Naveen Patnaik had given an answer that he will be willing to consider joining a Congress led government after elections then BJP would have taken advantage of it and called BJD as Congress-B. Having broken the alliance with BJP he could not have said that he will consider joining a BJP led government. So he basically did not have a choice.)

Following is from a report in Business Standard.

Bishnu Dash / Kolkata/ Bhubaneswar April 17, 2009, 0:59 IST

The Centre plans to set up two new Ultar Mega Power Plants (UMPPs) in Orissa. Those projects are proposed to come up at locations closer to the sea and will have a generating capacity of 4000Mw each.

Though the locations have not been identified, five possible locations have been short listed for the purpose which are Kirtania (Balasore district), Dhamara (Bhadrakh district), Paradeep (Jagatsinghpur district) Astharanga (Puri district) and Ganjam (in Ganjam district).

A team of senior officials from the Power Finance Corporation (PFC) and Central Electricity Authority (CEA) were likely to visit the state to identify the locations soon, sources said.

These units will make use of the sea water for meeting their water requirement and the state will get 50 per cent of the power generated from the two proposed UMPPs. The Centre plans to set up 13 UMPPs in different states. This includes Tamil Nadu (2), Gujarat (2), Andhra Pradesh (2), Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Karnataka, one each. Orissa was allotted one UMPP earlier at Sundergarh district.

Meanwhile, the exact location of the Sundergarh UMPP with an installed capacity of 4000 Mw is expected to be finalised soon. … Though the state water resources department has given conditional water allotment for the proposed project, the state has asked for creation of additional water reserves in certain sites.

However, the Centre is yet to agree to this proposal. Sources said, the Centre had agreed to bear the expenses for creation of additional reservoir capacity, but wanted the work to be taken up by the state government.

Besides, the Union government has not agreed to the Orissa government’s stipulations to spend five per cent of the net profit for the peripheral development of the area. It has sought waiver of this stipulation for the project. However, the Orissa government is reported to have expressed it’s unwillingness to waive off this condition for the project.

The following was found as a comment on a tathya.in report.

Er. Ramchandra Hansdah NIT, Rourkela passed out is also contesting from Saraskana (Mayurbhanj) constituency from NCP supported by BJD.

Upon verification in the Chief Election Officer of Orissa’s web page (constituency 27) it shows that Ramchandra Hansdah graduated from NIT RKL in 1987. Note that a different Ramchandra Hansdah was a congress(I) MLA from Bahalda in 1980.

This is scary. Following are excerpts from an opinion piece in Telegraph.

In retrospect, the violence in Kandhamal in Orissa last year seems like the first step in an electoral strategy, a strategy that can be broadly described as the Gujarat model. For those who don’t remember those events, starting in the last week of August, Christians in the Kandhamal district suffered a month and a half of systematic intimidation, killing and displacement. Figures released by the Orissa government put the figure at over 12,000 refugees, fed and sheltered in government camps. This doesn’t account for those Christians who fled their homes and sought refuge in places other than these refugee camps, so the overall figure for the displaced is higher.

The troubles began after Swami Laxmananda Saraswati, a Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader, was murdered by ‘Maoists’. The sangh parivar alleged that his murder had been organized by Christians and used his funeral procession to stoke murderous violence against Christians in the area. Having ‘cleansed’ Christians from their homes, Hindutva militants declared with impunity that they wouldn’t be allowed back till they re-converted to their ‘parent’ faith, Hinduism. There were reports of groups of Christians submitting to ritual ‘shuddhi’ ceremonies organized by these custodians of Hinduism’s integrity, to purge them of Christianity, that alien contagion.

The main accused in this campaign of carnage and killing was Manoj Pradhan. Charged with more than a dozen cases of murder and arson, Manoj Pradhan is currently lodged in jail in G. Udayagiri, a town in Kandhamal. The not-so-subtle irony is that Pradhan is also the Bharatiya Janata Party’s official candidate for the G. Udayagiri assembly seat in the approaching elections. B.B. Ramachandran Harichandan, the BJP’s leader in the state’s legislative assembly, offered a familiar defence: “he has been arrested under false charges. In any case, he is not yet proved guilty in the court of law. Let the people decide his fate”.

The BJP’s nominee for the newly delimited Kandhamal Lok Sabha seat is a former IPS officer, Ashok Sahu, currently the state president of the Hindu Jagaran Samukhya, who is notable for having declared without the inconvenience of evidence that Christian terrorists had killed Laxmananda Saraswati.

A pogrom is the first step in the Gujarat model. The object of the pogrom is polarization, specifically the consolidation of a Hindu majority. The third ‘P’ in this grim sequence is political victory at the polls. …

In a circumstance where, just over six months ago, dozens of Christians had been killed and thousands made homeless, … But the last word in this matter must be reserved for Ashok Sahu, the BJP’s Lok Sabha candidate for the Kandhamal seat. He said, “What happened in Kandhamal is no reason to be ashamed about, at least not for me. Today Kandhamal symbolizes Hindu culture.”

The reason these contests in Kandhamal are of historic and of national importance is because they show us the BJP being true to its impulses, its gut beliefs. Over the last few years (with the exception of Gujarat), the BJP has been compelled by political and electoral necessity to abide by anodyne coalition manifestos. Now that the party doesn’t have a tiresomely ‘secular’ partner to alienate in Gujarat, it’s taking the opportunity to be itself.

… In recent times, majoritarian organizations in this country have tried to expand the domain of permissible violence. The Sri Ram Sena in Karnataka, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena in Maharashtra, and the BJP in Orissa and Karnataka have used thuggish intimidation in the name of a defence of culture. Their targets have been the vulnerable and the weak: young women, poor north Indian men and religious minorities. This election is a pointer to the likely political behaviour of the BJP parties were it to be sprung from the straitjacket of coalition politics. And should it win the Kandhamal contests, something ominous shall have been proved

He is an independent candidate from Karanjia. A web page and blog set up for his campaign is at http://www.baidyasing.org/.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Times of India.

Launching a scathing attack at the UPA and NDA, Patnaik said these alliances work on national agenda and a state’s interest is never a priority for them. "Orissa has been a victim of discrimination, particularly when it came to coal and mineral royalty and rail connectivity both during UPA and NDA regimes," Pattnaik said. "Leaders of different political parties from other states now touring Orissa and shedding crocodile tears, but they will not be successful here," Patnaik said.

Following is from Sambada. It reports that Jindal Steel of Kalinganagar is trying to give its extra power to its plant in Harayana against the agreement that the state of Orissa has the first rights to get that extra power. The Orissa high court was approached on this and it has put a stay order on this. Industrialists should realize that such attempt to steal from a state, that too a poor state like Orissa, is what gives the whole conecpt of industrailization a bad name.

Other potential representatives should learn from this young leader. Following is an excerpt from a report in ExpressBuzz.

The BJD candidate for Sambalpur Parliamentary constituency Rohit Pujari is all prepared for the contest.

… So well had he done his homework that after the boundaries were redrawn he strengthened his organisation in the newly included Athamallick and Chendipada areas and had even formed booth committees.The technocrat had even put in place committees at the gram panchayat and booth level and maintained a rapport with them through SMSs and phones. And this seems to have paid dividends for the young leader.

… But now it seems Pujari has also done his groundwork listing out problems of the PC area wise and priorities.

The young leader also listed out the problems the voters face in the constituency.

In a document handed out to the mediamen he has listed out the need to combat Naxalism in Sambalpur and Deogarh districts as the biggest challenge.

He attributed the growth of Naxalism to lack of development in rural areas.

The document also lays thrust on providing and promoting technical education and developing sports infrastructure to channelise youth power productively.

He also has something for the chillies and fruit growing areas as he has assured to look into the long pending demand for a food processing unit and cold storage.

Diversion of NH-6 in Deogarh and Sambalpur to contain road accidents and casualties also finds mention and so also an LPG dealership, as the block does not have one.

Ask for it and he has all in the document.

Promoting tourism, cleaning of Mahanadi river, upgradation of Jamadarpali airstrip, air ticketing facility, development of education corridor to compliment the presence of VSS Medical and VSS University of Technology, museums, expediting Kendriya Vidyalaya and Navodaya Vidyalaya and development of technical education in Deogarh has also been assured.

The document also touches upon issues like training to tribal girls to make them economically independent.

Some of the points made by BJD are:

• People of Orissa have seen the frightening consequences of BJP and the Sangh Parivaar’s conspiracy to make Orissa like Modi’s Gujarat , in the hellish violence in Kandhamal, Gajapati and Sundergarh districts.
• The BJP government had declared the Gujarat earthquake a national calamity but refused to declare the Orissa super cyclone as a national calamity.
• Like BJP, Congress gave 2000 crores for the Bihar floods and did not even give 100 crores for the Orissa floods.

Following is from Sambada.

The following is from http://ceoorissa.nic.in/PC%20candidates%20of%20first%20phase.pdf.

The following is from the cover story of ndia Today of September 22, 2008. It was done by Economists Bibek Debroy and Laveesh Bhandari.

The data is about how the states have improved (accelerated) since 1991. Overall Orissa is number 3 among all states. (See the last table.) With respect to individual parameters Orissa is number 7 in Agriculture (best in the east), number 2 in consumer markets (best in the east), number 2 in macro economy behind Assam, number 1 in education, number 8 in governance, number 6 in investment, number 2 in health and number 12 in infrastructure.