Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is celebrating his 77th birthday today. He has been ruling the state for 22 years and is only the third Indian Chief Minister after Pawan Chamling, former Chief Minister of Sikkim and Jyoti Basu, former Chief Minister of West Bengal, to win five terms in a row.
Naveen was born in 1947 in Cuttack to former Chief Minister Biju Patnaik and his wife Gyan Patnaik.
After the demise of his father, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) was born on December 26, 1997. And it was Naveen Patnaik who was at the helm.
He first became an MP, then a Union Minister and after that assumed the office as the 22nd Chief Minister of Odisha. The party has since been scripting a success story. Be it Panchayat elections, Assembly Elections or General Elections, it is Naveen’s popularity that has been working for the party.
“I feel proud to be a citizen of Odisha, member of the party, and minister of the government led by him (Naveen Patnaik). He is a known figure not only in Odisha but also in the whole world. He has heralded a new era and created a new chapter in the field of politics,” said Minister Pratap Deb.
Senior journalist Rabi Das said, “The party is achieving success on the strength of his clean image and popularity. It can be said a peculiar situation. The system has come to such a state that it is being said that there is no alternative to Naveen Patnaik.”
For the first time, Naveen was elected from Aska Lok Sabha seat in Ganjam district. Then he was selected as the Union Minister for mines in the cabinet of Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Later, he resigned from the cabinet to take oath as the Chief Minister of Odisha. Since then, the BJD has been forming the government on the basis of the majority.
In 2009, the BJD managed to grab 103 out of 147 Assembly seats and 14 out of 21 Lok Sabha seats. The same thing was repeated in 2004. The party registered its victory in 117 Assembly seats and 20 Lok Sabha seats. In 2019, the party managed to win 112 and 12 Assembly and Lok Sabha seats respectively.
At the same time, speculations have already started regarding his successor. In an interview with an English magazine, Naveen revealed that the party has a specific plan regarding its successor and, that the party will serve the state for many more years.
His statement then created ripples in the state political circle.
“It can’t be said who will be Naveen Patnaik’s successor. Several names are cropping up. But it appears to me that Naveen Patnaik has indeed decided that the next generation will decide who will be his successor,” observed political analyst Sandeep Sahu.