DECIPHERING NAVEEN PATNAIK

The Odisha CM was once seen as the quintessential outsider, partly because of his struggle with the Odia language. Now he stands on the cusp of history. What is his political grammar?

- ARCHIS MOHAN

In April 2019, in the run-up to the elections to Odisha's 21 Lok Sabha and 147 Assembly seats, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National President Amit Shah likened the Naveen Patnaik-led Odisha government to a "burnt transformer". A couple of weeks later, addressing a public meeting at Kendrapara, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked the Odia people to accord a befitting farewell to their Chief Minister.

Patnaik met the BJP's onslaught with an equanimous question to the state's electorate, "Apana mane khushi ta (are you happy)?" In response, they elected a Biju Janata Dal (BJD) government with him at its helm, for a fifth successive term.

Five years later, 78-year-old Naveen is on the cusp of creating history. He must win the forthcoming Assembly polls to become India's longest-serving chief minister, a record held by Sikkim's Pawan Kumar Chamling. He will complete 24 years as Odisha's CM on March 5, also the birth anniversary of his father, Biju Patnaik.

This year, BJD leaders anticipate the Centre might finally heed Naveen's demand to confer the Bharat Ratna on his father. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, according to the Press Trust of India, is likely to visit Odisha on March 5.

The Odisha government in recent weeks has loosened its purse strings to beat antiincumbency, especially courting the youth and women. V Karthikeyan Pandian, who quit the Indian Administrative Service to join the BJD in October and is being seen by some as Patnaik's successor, said at an official event last week: "The best is yet to come."

Friends and foes 

The leadership of the other two political forces in the state the BJP, the principal opposition party, and the Congress- - seem to be abetting Naveen's tryst with destiny.