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Patnaik lobbies for Rao

Despite the Congress leadership's decision not to give a ticket to former prime minister P V Narasimha Rao for the Behrampur Lok Sabha seat in Orissa, state Chief Minister J B Patnaik is pushing the party to include Rao's name in its final list of candidates.

His efforts may not be liked by many in the party, a senior Orissa Congress leader said, but he cannot be ignored by the high command either.

The Orissa CM believes Rao's non-inclusion in the list may further harm the party in the state. Patnaik's stand is clear, not to victimise Rao at the cost of the party, a senior Congress leader and Patnaik associate, told Rediff On The NeT. He hinted that Patnaik would not support any other candidate but Rao from Behrampore.

Party sources said Patnaik has remained loyal to Rao since the latter helped him become chief minister for the third time. Patnaik is one of the few senior Congress leaders to still stand by Rao, a senior Orissa Congressman pointed out.

Others pointed out that Patnaik may even meet Sonia Gandhi in this connection. While he may not have admitted in public that he would discuss the matter with the central leadership, the chief minister has given enough hints about this at the state Congress executive meeting.

Patnaik, sources said, told the meeting that a chargesheeted leader should not be debarred from contesting the election. The CM, they said, reiterated his stand that unless a politician is convicted by the court, s/heshould not be treated as a criminal. Rao is just an accused, for this he should not be denied the ticket, Patnaik reportedly told the meeting.

Rao is the only member of the dissolved Lok Sabha from the state whose name has not been cleared by the central election committee. The Pradesh election committee had left the decision to the high command.

Madhavrao Scindia, the general secretary in charge of Orissa affairs, has demanded that Rao should not contest the election as he had denied tickets to Congressmen chargesheeted by the CBI in the hawala case during the 1996 election. Scindia, who was one of these Congressmen, had then left the party to form the Madhya Pradesh Vikas Congress under whose banner he contested and won the Gwalior seat. He returned to the parent party last year.

Congress leaders do not rule out the possibility of a tussle between Patnaik and Scindia over the matter, especially if Rao is denied a ticket.

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