THE ALL-NEW NAVEEN PATNAIK

The Biju Janata Dal supremo has stepped out of the shadows, unveiling a new avatar. No longer reserved and detached, he's now a fiery Opposition force, reigniting his party and energising his base

- Arkamoy Datta Majumdar

At 78 years of age, most politicians might gracefully retreat from public life. But not Naveen Patnaik, Odisha's longest-serving chief minister and now leader of the Opposition in the state.

The defeat in the 2024 assembly and Lok Sabha elections could well have been the epilogue to his career, but Patnaik is intent on writing a few more chapters. Exhibiting a renewed vigour, he is emerging as a vocal and dynamic political force.

CM Patnaik exuded a calm, gentlemanly demeanour in the more than two decades that he was at the helm. Opposition leader Patnaik is a sharper, feistier avatar, unafraid to take direct shots at his political rivals. The latest salvo assailed the Mohan Charan Majhi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government for the rising prices, labelling it a "double engine, double blow" administration.

The clever potshot came during the Biju Janata Dal's (BJD) first major protest rally in nearly 20 years, held on January 5 near the state legislative assembly. Thousands of supporters gathered, their energy palpable as Patnaik took the stage. For a leader criticised for his detachment in his later years as CM, this marked a dramatic return to grassroots engagement, stirring public discourse. It was a clear signal that Patnaik intends to stay relevant.

In that bid, he pledged to educate the two daughters of Sahadev Nayak, a sanitation worker murdered on January 8 before the 18th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas that was held in state capital Bhubaneswar.