BHUBANESWAR: Prime Minister Narendra Modi seems to have found a man, within his party, who is promoting agriculture literally. Two-time BJP MP from Odisha and State vice-president of the party Ananta Nayak is now-a-days busy in paddy cultivation. He represented Keonjhar (reserved for ST) from 1999 to 2009.
Nayak (46), who defies the general perception that politics is an easy and comfortable way to become rich, believes that failure to recapture the seat in 2009 and 2014 general elections actually gave him an opportunity to dedicate most of his time to his passion - farming.
This year, he has cultivated five acres of land in his native village Langalkanti (it means a ploughing equipment). Starting from ploughing land to seed sowing, de-weeding and transplanting paddy saplings to applying fertiliser, he does everything on his own.
“I hail from a farmer’s family. I love doing farming since it is my passion. As joining politics was a decision taken to serve the unprivileged and poor, I always promote agriculture and stand by the farmers’ cause,” he said.
Born on May 1, 1969, Nayak was a member of the 13th and 14th Lok Sabha. A Diploma Engineer by academic qualification, he left his steel plant job in 1999 and joined politics.
He became the Member of Parliament at the age of 30. He won twice from the constituency consecutively. He was also selected as the president of the saffron party’s Tribal Morcha.
Despite the achievements, he thinks he is close to his roots. Although his political assignments keep him busy since he joined politics, he manages to find time for his passion.
“My brother is an all-rounder. He knows everything that is required for farming. He has been doing it since he was studying in Class-V. He spends much time in the field even when he was MP,” said his younger brother Sarat Nayak.
A local party functionary Amar Singh said Nayak is party’s vice-president and the party is in power at the Centre.
“Had he expressed his desires, he could have done many things to spend his life in luxury. But he preferred to do farming. This shows his dedication to agriculture. He is genuinely an example for others in politics,” he said.
While Nayak’s wife Labangalata is a member of the women wing of VHP, their only son Antaryami is studying in an English medium school in Std-VIII.