Manmohan Samal
The BJP state unit president’s inspired leadership saw the party notch up a historic win in the 2024 Assembly elections and form its first government in Odisha. The run-up to the crucial elections had witnessed both BJD and BJP bargain into an alliance. Amidst hectic parleys between the two estranged partners, Samal was steadfast in his stand that the saffron party can go solo and snatch a victory. His conviction eventually prevailed and Samal fashioned a record win for the BJP which went on to grab 78 Assembly seats, dislodging the 24-year-old BJD rule in the state.
Pravati Parida
Odisha’s first woman deputy chief minister and a first-time legislator, Pravati Parida has more than one feather in her cap. A practising lawyer, Parida had joined the BJP in 1997 and served as women’s wing president of the party in Odisha. Apart from being the deputy CM, she is also the minister of Women and Child Development and Tourism. Prior to BJP coming to power in the state, Parida had led an 11-day-long Mahila Suraksha Yatra in 2018 against increasing incidents of crime against women in the state. She won from Nimapara Assembly seat and defeated BJD’s Dillip Kumar Nayak.
Krushna Chandra Patra
The Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare minister remained the soundbyte solider of the Mohan Majhi government. Prices of essential commodities soared, so did Patra’s stock in the media and government’s discomfort. His takes on potato prices, PDS rice distribution after deaths of three villagers in Mandipanka of Kandhamal district due to mango kernel consumption and eKYC verification of ration card holders fuelled debates, dragging government into controversies. Patra, though, remained undeterred.
Bishnupada Sethi
The 1995 batch IAS officer was in news after CBI sent him a notice in connection with a Rs 10 lakh bribery scandal involving a senior executive of central PSU Bridge and Roof Company Ltd. Though Sethi, who was serving as principal secretary of three key departments, was asked to join the investigation, it was not certain if he did but the central agency interrogated his official drivers with regard to the same case. The Mohan Majhi government acted swiftly and shunted him from the positions and posted him as officer on special duty.
DRDO
With the successful flight testing of a 1,500 km range hypersonic missile on November 16, India became the first country to develop a long-range hypersonic missile that can travel more than eight times the speed of sound. The missile that can carry both conventional and nuclear warheads is a game-changer in global defence technology which no other countries have. The missile test came days after China showcased a new hypersonic glide vehicle codenamed GDF-600 at its flagship Zhuhai air show. DRDO also mastered another new cutting-edge technology with the test of solid fuel ducted ramjet (SFDR) propulsion based missile system. India is the first country to develop SFDR technology.
VK Pandian
The most trusted aide of Naveen Patnaik remained the single-most prominent political figure for the first half of 2024. The BJD government’s all-powerful entity, he led the party’s campaign to get Naveen his record sixth term in office. Soon he ran into a spirited BJP which made the Tamil Nadu-born bureaucrat-turned-politician its main poll plank. From Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, everyone went hammer and tongs against the 49-year-old who quit the all India service to join BJD a year before. Pandian mounted a massive campaign but BJD bit the dust. He walked away, taking retirement from active politics though continuing to pull the strings of the regional outfit.
Ankita Pradhan
A lawyer and restaurateur, Ankita Pradhan walked into Bharatpur police station on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar along with her fiancée, an Army major, in September to register a complaint against harassment by locals, only to end up being victim of alleged atrocity in police custody. The incident grabbed nationwide attention and triggered an outrage in the Army and among the veterans. While five police officials were suspended, the incident also sparked uproar among political circles. Currently, the case is being probed by Crime Branch of Odisha Police and also investigated by a judicial commission headed by Justice CR Dash.
TE Ravenshaw
A round 110 years after he was laid to rest at St Leonard’s Parish Church Cemetery in West Sussex’s Turners Hills, British administrator Thomas Edward Ravenshaw - after whom the venerated Ravenshaw university is named - was back in news in Odisha where he served between 1865 and 1878. It was Union Education minister Dharmendra Pradhan who had voiced his opinion on changing the name of the university as he questioned the role of Ravenshaw during the Orissa Famine of 1866. An old fire rekindled, Ravenshaw was soon in the midst of a raging controversy finding support and criticism in equal measures.
Preeti Panigrahi
Shuchi Talati’s directorial debut ‘Girls will be Girls’ found a new star, Preeti Panigrahi, the Odisha-born actress who won international accolades for her sterling performance. The film premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival and MAMI - Mumbai Film Festival. The 22-year-old actress also won the World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Acting at the Sundance festival for her nuanced portrayal of a teenager in the coming-of-age drama. The film delves into themes of rebellion and female sexuality.
Zeenat
The three-year-old tigress from Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra translocated to Similipal Tiger Reserve as part of a genetic diversity programme grabbed the headlines after she moved out of her new habitat to Jharkhand before entering West Bengal. In a new landscape, the young tigress gave sleepless nights to Forest departments of the three states as they went on the chase, tracking the signals from the radio collar. With media keeping tab of its every possible move, the feline emerged as one of the most covered wild animals in the recent times.