determination expected of it, it has made quite a few determined attacks on the government during the past one year.
With two bye-election victories boosting up its confidence, Congress, the main opposition party, has been making a determined bid to pin the government down over issues like industrialisation and growing Maoist activities in the state. As far as industrialisation is concerned, the latest on the list of Congress are the deals with South Korean steel major POSCO and the Vedanta Group.
However, if the party campaign did not make the desired impact, it is because Congress failed to make common cause with other opposition outfits like Nationalist Congress Party, CPI and CPI(M) on these issues.
The truth is that most of these parties have been wary about Congress's commitment to the cause of movement against indiscriminate industrialisation given the Congress-led UPA government's soft corner for POSCO.
The opposition, thus, is a divided house with Congress, the biggest opposition party, facing a credibility crisis. This has made things easy for Patnaik who has braved many a storm during the last eight years. However, Patnaik's real strength lies in the continued public perception that he is a clean and honest politician being unnecessarily dragged into controversies by the opposition.
This public image of Patnaik has been his shield since he stepped into politics over 10 years ago following the death of his father, Biju Patnaik. A bachelor with several books to his credit, he was seen as a selfless person striving to lift Odisha from the pits of misery and economic instability. Hence, when he described the Congress as "corruption club" during the last elections people believed him. When he poked fun at Congress veteran J.B. Patnaik for pushing his family at the expense of his party, the people laughed with him.
The image of the selfless bachelor has stuck to Patnaik who still enjoys huge popularity among the poor and the middle classes with a big fan following among women. This despite the fact that the government took some myopic and controversial decisions like liberalising the excise policy which raised the hackles of anti-liquor activists all over the state.
However, Patnaik was quick to realise his folly and shelved the plan for opening more country liquor outlets as soon as women activists launched agitations in different parts of the state. He did not want to displease them as they constitute a sizeable vote bank. Fortunately for him, the Mission Shakti programme launched by the government for the empowerment of women has been a success earning the government the goodwill of women.
Adept at reading the popular pulse, Patnaik has also been quick to punish corruption and make an example of senior officers accused of graft and corruption. During his tenure as Chief Minister, the government has arrested at least two senior IAS officers while two others have been put under suspension. He has also not spared senior police officials facing corruption charges.
In fine, problems and controversies notwithstanding the government led by Patnaik continues to be in the saddle firmly because of the Chief Minister's squeaky clean image and his ability to retain the trust of a sizeable section of the electorate who, on comparison, find his programmes and policies much better than that of the preceding Congress-led government.
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