BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik turns 74 today but there is no stopping him. Fairly young in politics with only a little over two decades, Patnaik has achieved success and popularity that few leaders in the country can match. An enigma that both his followers and opponents continue to grapple with election after election.
Storming to power for the fifth consecutive term this year, going from strength to strength each passing election, Naveen has created a halo of invincibility around him. The constant 20-year-old reign has failed to fuel any disaffection among the people. Despite continuing to be a hesitant public speaker, his words “Are you happy, I am also happy”, still sends crowds into raptures meeting after meeting.
What makes Naveen tick is the question on everyone’s mind. The answer is still the same as was two decades back. A politician with no baggage and unflinching commitment to simplicity, political integrity and public welfare. He has won the trust of the electorate and created a rock-solid constituency of voters, which cannot be swayed by any power.
At the core of this unbeatable persona is the welfare-based model of governance that he has mastered over the years. His government has touched the lives of every section and has also been able to steer the State from the morass of backwardness to the path of development.
Odisha’s economy was in tatters and the State was devastated by 1999 super cyclone when Naveen took over as the Chief Minister in 2000 by forming a coalition government with the BJP. Since then, he has not looked back.
Under his leadership, the State has undergone a massive transformation from poverty-stricken to one that is taken note of because of its economic development and social progress. According to the Economic Survey of Odisha Government for 2017-18, the poverty-level has come down to 26.9 per cent in the State and the Government has now set a target to bring it further down by 5 pc.
Naveen has set an example of women empowerment by his historic step of reservation of 33 per cent seats in Lok Sabha for women. BJD was the first political party in the country to reserve one third of seats for women. Besides, Odisha was also the first State in the country to increase the reservation of seats for women at the panchayat level to 50 per cent.
The State has taken great strides in improvement of health indices, education, industrial and infrastructure development. It has begun making waves across diverse sectors like sports and hailed as the emerging Sports Capital of the country after successfully hosting the Asian Athletics Championships and the Hockey World Cup in the last two years.
The State has received international laurels, including United Nations for its disaster management particularly cyclones. Even in the midst of intense elections this year, the State was hit by a extremely severe cyclone Fani. The Naveen Patnaik Government’s handling of the disaster at such a crucial time and ensuring bare minimum loss of lives by successfully evacuating a whopping 1.5 million people has become a model for the world.
He introduced Kalia scheme for providing assistance to more than 50 lakh farmers, which is stated to have laid the premise for PM-KISAN yojana launched by the Modi Government.
Into his fifth term, Naveen continues to set benchmarks. He has consciously shifted from schemes to making government and public service delivery accountable to the people. Under his 5Ts initiative, the government is reaching out to the people for their assessment and feedback on the most crucial government wings and services.
Political observers deem this approach yet another master-stroke by a master strategist.
“Naveen has a firm grip on the pulse of the people. In the last four terms, he has covered all sections under different schemes. This term, his thrust on accountability will instill a feeling of sel-importance and participation in governance among the people. This is a winner again,” said a political leader.
His party men, however, believe that Naveen’s image and simplicity is unbeatable. Deputy government chief whip Rohit Pujari said simplicity, commitment to people’s welfare, simple living and high thinking makes him stand out from other politicians.