Odisha Chief Minister and Biju Janata Dal president Naveen Patnaik is leaving no stone unturned to win the upcoming Assembly and Lok Sabha elections and ensure a fifth consecutive term in office.
Making an entry into politics with his election to the Lok Sabha in 1997 in a bypoll that was necessitated following the death his father Biju Patnaik, Mr. Patnaik continues to maintain his popularity by focussing on pro-poor issues since he first took charge as Chief Minister in March 2000.
The BJD that Mr. Patnaik founded in December 1997 has won majority in all elections held in the State so far. But with many of his party’s Lok Sabha members, Ministers and legislators facing anti-incumbency this time round, he is working overtime to continue the winning streak in the coming polls.
Mr. Patnaik has already announced a series of sops for women self-help groups, Anganwadi workers and other sections of society. Among other things, he has announced interest-free loans of up to ₹3 lakh for SHGs which will benefit about 70 lakh women who are members of six lakh SHGs existing under the Mission Shakti programme he launched 18 years ago.
The Chief Minister has also taken up the issue of 33% reservation for women in Parliament and State Legislatures at the national level in a big way.
As farm distress remains a major issue, Mr. Patnaik has recently implemented the Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation scheme amounting to ₹10,000 crore to accelerate agricultural prosperity in the State and to reduce poverty. He himself visited a KALIA helpline centre a few days ago and ordered that the centre should remain open 24x7.
‘Popularity intact’
According to political analysts, the BJD may easily manage to win yet another term as Mr. Patnaik’s popularity is still intact and the two major parties – the Congress and the BJP – could never join hands to put up a joint fight. The two parties may end up fighting for the number two position.
In fact, the BJD's equidistance from the Congress and the BJP has been working fine for Mr. Patnaik since he ended his nine-year-long alliance with the saffron party before the 2009 elections.
Mr. Patnaik’s government has adopted the 3Ts – technology, transparency and teamwork — as its guiding principle to bring about transformation in the lives of the people with the slogan – “Let’s work together to take Odisha to new heights of glory”.
Apart from inducting leaders from rival parties, Mr. Patnaik has also started interacting with farmers and other people from far-off places at his residence at frequent intervals.
As the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections are being held simultaneously in Odisha since 2004, Mr. Patnaik finds it easy to make an MP an MLA and vice versa. If he denies party ticket to the MPs and MLAs who have lost popularity and replaces them with those having a clean image, he may find the going smooth in the coming polls to improve his ranking in the list of the country’s longest-serving Chief Ministers.
