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Dilip Ray likely to succeed Patnaik in Cabinet

M I Khan in Bhubaneswar

Who will Biju Janata Dal chief Naveen Patnaik choose to succeed him at the Centre?

That Patnaik will resign as the Union minister for mines and minerals shortly to take over from Orissa Chief Minister Hemananda Biswal is a certainty. After his victory - the BJD-Bharatiya Janata Party combine got 106 seats -- he is no longer a person under pressure. And nobody is sure who will be his choosen man.

"You just cannot predict it," said a senior BJD leader. He and some of his colleagues admitted that Patnaik has now established a hard grip over the party.

Incidentally, lobbying started among BJD MPs for the post at the Centre soon after Patnaik was elected the leader of the BJD legislature party on Sunday.

Patnaik, for his part, left for Delhi Monday to discuss with the BJP central leaders about the formation of his ministry. "I will take a final decision on ministry-making after discussing the matter with the alliance partner," he told newspersons, adding that he would meet Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and other senior NDA leaders.

Prominent among the MPs that are tipped to succeed Patnaik are BJD secretary general Prasanna Acharya, who is the party MP from Sambhalpur, Braj Kishor Tripathy (Puri) and Barthuhari Mahtab (Cuttack).

The BJD have 10 MPs including Patnaik in the Lok Sabha. Sources in the BJD told rediff.com that senior leader and Union Minister of State for steel Dilip Ray is lobbying hard to replace Patnaik in the Cabinet.

"Ray is in a good position. He enjoys Patnaik's confidence and has a good rapport with the BJP leaders in Delhi," a leader said.

"Ray is certain to be elevated as Cabinet minister this time," another was sure. "Also, one or two BJD MPs maybe inducted as the Union ministers of state in the month of March."

The favourite, thus, appears to be Ray. He has been Patnaik's confidant since the party was formed over two years ago. Besides, Ray is also believed to have supported Patnaik in expelling Bijay Mahapatra, who is said to enjoy the support of at least a dozen newly-elected MLAs.

Mahapatra, for his part, claims to have the support of all the 68 BJD MLAs.

"More than anything else Ray's relation with the BJP central leaders like Prime Minister Vajpayee, Advani and Pramod Mahajan is very sound. That will help him," sources pointed out.

Meanwhile, a senior BJD leader, known to be close to Patnaik, felt that the race for the Cabinet berth would create trouble for the BJD. "Patnaik has to first handle the smooth formation of his ministry, which in itself is a challenging job," he said.

It should be noted that of the BJD's nine Lok Sabha MPs including Patnaik, four are regarded as supporters of Mahapatra. Recently, the MP from Kenderapara, Prabhat Samantray, had openly criticised Patnaik's action against Mahapatra. The MP from Bhubaneswar, Prasanna Patsani, known as 'Baba', is also not happy with Patnaik.

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