Bhubaneswar: With continued phenomenal victory of the Biju Janata Dal in Odisha, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has almost suppressed all political parties in the State.
The outcome can rightly be viewed as a tectonic shift in the State’s political landscape.
Amidst the euphoria in the BJD camp, despair among other national and regional parties, the ruling party is celebrating its 20th birthday with utmost brute power in holy city Puri today.
What has come through the last 20 years is the mesmerizing magic of Naveen Patnaik’s charisma with a record of longest-time Chief Minister in the country along with Pawan Kumar Chamling, Chief Minister of Sikkim and Manik Sarkar, Chief Minister of Tripura.
Besides, the regional party has won 117 Assembly seats out of 147 and 20 Lok Sabha seats out of 21, adding a new record to its fold.
Under the leadership of Naveen, BJD has performed outstandingly in five Lok Sabha elections and four Assembly elections.
Naveen, who had never hogged political limelight till he fought a by-election from Aska Parliamentary Constituency in Odisha and was elected as a member to the 11th Lok Sabha after demise of his father Biju Patnaik in 1997, has stood as a benevolent mass leader, who is strong, capable of taking risky decisions and shouldering the responsibility of its fallout independently in Odisha politics.
He is a leader who seems to be keen on delivering and making a difference in the lives of 4.5 crore Odia people.