Naveen Had Never Backpedaled To His Future Nor Whataboutery, 2024 Is On The Run Up
By D N Singh
It was almost a blitzkrieg against the Naveen Patnaik regime when his sweet and sour relationship with the Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) faced one of the most frontal attacks from the BJP.
Naveen was then 19 years old as the chief minister when Amit Shah launched the most fierce attack on Naveen-led BJD to oust it from the roots, with at least wresting 120 seats in Odisha assembly.
The diatribes used by Shah were barbed and sometimes the Prime Ministe Narendra Modi joined the Shah chorus and made it appear as if Patnaik’s hold in some coastal pockets would slip by the renewed surge of attacks.
 BJD War-Room Was Cooler
It was the hot and humid solstice of April which required the most sought after cool from Patnaik. He was practically the sole target but rarely would any political pundits have imagined what was being charted in BJD’s war room.
Far from being reactive, Patnaik was in his best of the composure and continued with his delivery kits and had a tremendous response for his schemes like Krushak Assistance for livelihood and Kalia with, BJD chief reached out to people with extensive tours.
His face was cool as ever and his appearance in that terrible heat, nothing could deter the people coming out with conchs and an eagerness to have their tryst with their chief minister.
His strength was his self confidence and the people and the BJP did the tactical error being personal in attacks.
Naveen’s charisma played the role and it was like a dead match and BJD walking away with 112 seats of 147 Assembly seats and the BJP was left sulking with just 23 seats, reducing the Congress down to an inglorious third position.
Dramatic Change In Political Environ
The cycle changed and the mood of the BJP and the post poll, both the PM and Shah had all the best vocabulary in their command to heap praises on Naveen, his administrative efficiency, big success in handling the crisis from the cyclones (zero casualty) and even subsequently the Covid management.
Although some contradictions came out through the Economic Survey Report 2020-2021 which had some jitters in the BJD camp but, ultimately it were the people those who stood by him.
No Whatabouteries Whatsoever
Then his mission for sports and the Hockey in particular, in 2018, helped him to scale a new peak and which goes on. There would be a repeat of the Hockey WC in 2023 with Naveen to hit the headlines once more.
With 2024 not far off, it is unlikely that for Naveen Patnaik things could change politically. And it still that Naveen never takes to the whataboutery in his style of politcs.
