Naveen Patnaik was elected as the Chief Minister of Odisha for the first time on 5 March 2000 and since then he is holding the office of Chief Minister today.
By: ABP Live Plus | Updated at : 13 Jul 2023 03:34 PM (IST)
Naveen Patnaik will break the record of being the second longest Chief Minister on July 23 ABPP
Naveen Patnaik holds the record for the second longest serving chief minister.
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has been holding the post of CM for the last 23 years and 127 days. On coming July 22 i.e. exactly ten days later, he will hold the record of the second longest serving CM.
CM Patnaik started his political career in the year 1997. In the year 1998, he formed a party named after his father and named it Biju Janata Dal. He was first elected as the Chief Minister of Odisha in March 2000 and since then till date he is holding the office of Chief Minister.
In a BBC report, Ruben Banerjee, who wrote Naveen Patnaik’s biography, says, ‘When Naveen entered the fray for the first time in the year 2000 to contest the Odisha assembly elections, he did not even know how to speak Oriya language. But without speaking his language, Patnaik not only established a dialogue with the people there, but that dialogue is still intact today.
Ruben says, ‘I still remember that before going on stage, Naveen used to write the words of the speech in ‘Roman’. However, he also got the advantage of not knowing Odia. The year 2000 was the time when the political class in Odisha had become quite infamous. In such a situation, people liked the arrival of such a new face who does not know how to speak Odia. The public thought that this leader is different and he will save us. That’s why they decided to give Naveen a chance.
Odisha was in bad shape when it took over
Twenty years ago, the state of Odisha was recognized as one of the poorest and sickest states in the country. On hearing the names of Kalahandi and Raigad in Odisha, the picture that used to be created among the people in different parts of the world was related to the victims of starvation and malnutrition. In the year 2001 itself, the news of the death of more than 20 people after eating mango kernel paste in Kashipur, Rayagada, made international headlines at that time.
Before Naveen Patnaik assumed the post of CM, in the year 1999, Odisha had to face the worst cyclonic storm. According to the official figures, more than 10 thousand people had lost their lives in this storm.
In the midst of all these circumstances, Naveen Patnaik forms the government for the first time with the BJP and as the CM, he changed the state’s rejuvenation. He did many development works in the state.
In the last 23 years, CM Naveen Patnaik implemented every policy regarding Odisha’s economy, education system, health facility and food security, due to which today Odisha is counted among the fastest developing states of the country.
Talking about the growth rate in Odisha, it was 11.5 percent in the year 2021-22 and 7.8 percent in the year 2022-23. Apart from this, 20 percent of the steel manufacturing capacity in India is in Odisha. This state is currently one of the power surplus states.
How the opposition was clean bowled, three reasons
- BJD President Naveen Patnaik is such a leader who rarely speaks in front of the media, but he has left no stone unturned to rejuvenate Odisha in the last 23 years. In a way, Naveen Patnaik is a silent seeker of Indian politics, who has had little to do with political rhetoric.
- Naveen Patnaik supports whichever government is in the center and joins the small level popular leaders in his party before joining any other party.
- Naveen Patnaik government schemes and work is visible on the field. On the basis of his work, he is very famous among the people of the state.
