Naveen survives Cong onslaught

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik's storming back to power for a second consecutive term, huge controversies over mining deals, possibility of several steel and alumina projects taking off and a spurt in activities by Left wing ultras dominated the year in Orissa during 2004.

The BJD-BJP coalition, led by Patnaik, decided to dissolve the Assembly a year in advance to coincide with the polls along with the Lok Sabha elections.

The move proved to be a master stroke as the alliance, shrugging off incumbency factor, rode back to power even as the BJP-led government at the Centre and incumbents elsewhere in states fell by the wayside.

The BJD and the BJP decided to share the same number of seats as they had done earlier, but the number of seats they had won during 2000 came down marginally in the polls held in late April.

Against 68 seats the BJD had won in the 2000 elections, they could retain only 61 while the BJP's tally of 38 was reduced to 32. The Congress, whose election campaign was completely lackluster, could win only 38 seats"" a gain of 13.

Patnaik, whose "clean image" was described by BJD leaders as the main factor for his return to power, was sworn-in for a second term on May 15 last.

The Patnaik regime, which had a smooth-run in the first term of four years, ran into trouble early in the second innings after reports appeared in the media about a non-bailable warrant pending against minister for women and child development Pramila Mallick.

This caused a furore leading to Mallick's resignation on July 26 even as Speaker Maheswar Mohanty ruled that no member, against whom such warrants were pending, could enter the Assembly. Mallick, however, was reinducted into the Cabinet on September 22 after she was cleared by a court.

The government faced a serious blow on October 18 last when the Orissa High Court quashed the decision of the state-owned Industrial Development Corporation of Orissa Ltd (Idcol) to chose private sector Jindal Strips Ltd (JSL) as its joint venture partner for a chromite mine project at Tangarpada in the Dhenkanal district.

The court directed Idcol to go for fresh tender. Pointing out that the court judgment contained several strictures against the government, the opposition demanded the chief minister's resignation and paralyzed the functioning of the Assembly for three consecutive days from December three last.

The opposition pinned down the ruling the BJD by quoting from the court verdict which said the government had approved the JSL's bid without any further negotiations in respect of a long list of demands for various exemptions/incentives worth Rs 20,000 crore over a period of 20 years the effect of which against the state exchequer and public interest was never assessed by the technical committee.

On the fourth day, the issue was debated in the House even as the opposition persisted with its demand for the resignation of the chief minister.

Opposition members of the Assembly also marched to the Raj Bhavan to submit a memorandum to Governor Rameshwar Thakur demanding that criminal prosecution should commence against the chief minister. The Congress staged a huge rally at Bhubaneswar on December 17 on the same demand.