Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday achieved a remarkable milestone, equaling the record set by former West Bengal CM Jyoti Basu as the second longest-serving Chief Minister in India.
Mr. Patnaik has held the position for an impressive 23 years and 138 days, sharing this rank with the late veteran CPI (M) leader. The title of the longest-serving CM, however, belongs to Pawan Kumar Chamling, the former CM of Sikkim, who held the position for an impressive 24 years and 166 days.
Comment | It is Naveen Patnaik all the way
Mr. Patnaik’s journey in politics has been nothing short of extraordinary, especially considering that he was relatively unknown in political circles until he reached the age of 51. The turning point in his political career came when his father, the legendary former Odisha CM Biju Patnaik, passed away on April 17, 1997. The State faced a political vacuum, and the former Janata Dal leaders struggled to agree on a suitable candidate to lead and capitalize on the sympathy wave following Biju Patnaik’s demise.
At this crucial juncture, Mr. Naveen Patnaik, who was previously known in New Delhi’s socialite circles, was called upon to lead the Biju Janata Dal, newly formed after his father’s name. His journey began with his successful election from the Aska Lok Sabha constituency in his home district of Ganjam.
In 1998, he was inducted as the Steel and Mines Minister in the Atal Behari Vajpayee government at the centre, but he later returned to the state to contest the assembly elections in 2000. His return coincided with the widespread unpopularity of the incumbent Congress government in Odisha due to its mishandling of post-super cyclone rehabilitation.
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Mr. Naveen Patnaik successfully led a coalition government with the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2000. He was sworn in as the 14th CM of Odisha on March 5, 2000. The National Democratic Alliance, in which BJD was a partner, came to power in 2004. Even though the NDA faced setbacks in the 2004 general elections, it did not adversely affect Mr. Patnaik’s electoral prospects in Odisha.
In 2009, one of the major challenges for Naveen Patnaik arose when he had to end his alliance with the BJP due to communal violence in Kandhamal. With the guidance of his advisor, the late former bureaucrat Pyari Mohan Mohapatra, he effectively managed the challenges posed by both the Congress and BJP in the State. In 2012, he also successfully navigated an alleged political coup attempt by Mohapatra.
Despite facing such challenges, Naveen Patnaik remains incredibly popular in the state of Odisha. In subsequent Assembly elections, he has effortlessly won over 100 out of 147 seats consecutively, seemingly unaffected by the anti-incumbency factor. His soft-spoken nature and reputation as an anti-corruption crusader have contributed to his electoral success. Under his leadership, the BJD (Biju Janata Dal) has not suffered any electoral defeats, whether in Lok Sabha, Assembly, or panchayat elections.
Naveen Patnaik is a shrewd politician who has maintained cordial relationships with leaders at the national level. However, he has chosen to keep his regional party, BJD, equidistant from both the Congress and BJP. While other non-BJP parties were forming alliances to challenge Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mr. Patnaik remained non-committal about joining any front.
Also Read | Not joining any front now, says Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik
The Chief Minister has strategically crafted the image of the BJD as a regional party that takes pride in the development of the State. Over his two-decade-long tenure, he has implemented various pro-poor schemes, such as the subsidised rice scheme, the Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation (KALIA) program for farmers, the revival of millet crops to benefit tribal populations, construction of hostels for tribal students, and initiatives like 5T (teamwork, technology, transparency, transformation, and time limit) for a responsive government. He has also focused on the development of temples and the ongoing transformation of SCB Medical College Hospital into an AIIMS-plus institution.
However, opposition parties have criticised Naveen Patnaik for not doing enough to curb corruption at the grassroots level and for relying too heavily on bureaucracy to govern the State. Though he is set to become the second longest-serving CM of India on Sunday, party sources said there was no arrangement to celebrate the occasion. Party spokesperson Manas Mangaraj said for Odisha CM, it was important to live up to expectations of people, rather than celebrating any feat.
