Naveen Patnaik Breaks Out Of Political Confines To Garner Support For The Odia Lady, Draupadi Mumru

By D N Singh

It is always better to with align one’s focus with the solutions rather than align with the problems. And which seems to have become the cardinal philosophy of Naveen Patnaik, the chief minister of Odisha.

And this is something he has tried to prove by a virtual departure from pure politics, demonstrating his love for Odias in the case of the ensuing Presidential election in India.

Even before the Bharatiya Janata Party in Odisha make its outreach to the other opposition camp such as the Congress, Naveen Patnaik, known for the deftness in public life, has done it cutting the barriers of political divides.

NDA nominated presidential candidate, Draupadi Murmu of the BJP not only enjoys the support of the Biju Janata Dal, but Patnaik has shown his love for the Odias, and by implication for Murmu in a magnanimous way.

Patnaik has, reportedly, taken the fair initiative to reach out to the Congress party in Odisha to convince them to support the Odia lady aiming to become the President.

Reports would have us believe that, representatives on behalf of the chief minister has met the Odisha Pradesh Congress President, Sarat Patnaik , to convince him to support the candidature of Murmu symbolizing Odia pride.

Not that alone, in a rare show of his statesmanlike gesture, his people have approached the veteran Congress leader Narasingha Mishra, also to persuade him not to look at the issue through any political prism but just support Murmu’s candidature as an Odia lady.

This is no politics for a while, is what Naveen Patnaik has tried to mean, and this initiative by him must have caught the BJP camp in Odisha unaware. A gesture not to be read as political but, something far above the narrow confines of politics.

Patnaik’s proposal and his outreach is seen by many as broader than politics as his followers and opponents must have been humbled by this step.