In most of the polls, Naveen Patnaik has been proven as one of the most popular Chief Ministers in India. People adore him primarily because he is single and leads a simple life. His trademark kurta-pyjama apparel along with Kolhapuri chappals and, above all, his hatred for rank political creatures make him the hero that he is today. It is a popular belief that political creatures with big families are a selfcentric lot too eager to amass wealth and abuse power for personal gains and dynastic pleasure - aperception not all that baseless though.
Naveen's political history is well-known to the rest of the world. He has had the best of everything including advisors at all times. Pyari Mohapatra, being the foremost among all, eventually had to suffer disgrace for only a single blunder grandly overblown by guys he had brought from the garbage yards, who stabbed him from behind and spewed home-concocted venom into Naveen's ears. Even the newly inducted fiery Congress frontliner Bijay Patnaik was Naveen's advisor when Pyari was beginning to lose trust. Bijay Patnaik, a fairly intelligent performer, somehow fell from Naveen’s grace after retirement and was never again asked to suggest bright ideas. Strangely, around this time of ‘no advisor’ crisis, a politician called ‘Kalpataru' stormed in and with the help of a late State-level officer, a small strategy devising team was formed to be handled by the much-talked-about young bureaucrat VK Pandian for whom Naveen took great liking for several appreciable reasons. VK cut a niche for himself as a very effective pro-people Collector in both the largest Mayurbhanj district and Ganajam, from which Naveen hails as native and political representative. Kalpataru, now no more, somehow mesmerised VK, who, as Naveen’s most trusted lieutenant, deftly persuaded the boss to believe him as the back of his own hand and got all truly good things approved and executed. The phenomenal rise of VK happened as a number of historic thingsoccurred successively around this time. The 2014 BJD victory was the most notable, which was beyond belief of the common folks. Pyari had challenged the party with all his might and the masses believed that even if he would fail to form government, BJD would suffer irreparable damage in the poll battle. But just the opposite happened. BJD assumed proportions of a most formidable regional outfit, and Pyari was permanently erased from the picture. The people of Odisha had bynow injected Naveen into their system as they found him demigod. Kalpataru’s untimely demise left VK as the sole critical guide to Naveen who would dream nobly for the people, and VK would employ all his wisdom, associations and risktaking abilities to take the last call to make things happen.From that victory day in 2014, Naveen dismissed the idea of displacing VK from his office ever. VK's character is admirable. He is god-fearing, soft-tongued and means and does business on a no-nonsense mode. Ever since his critically important CMO assignment, several feather-adding things have happened to Odisha. Asian athletic championship, hockey world cup twice, world’s biggest stadium in Sundargarh put up in record time, and incredible beautification of all the globally famous, tourist-attracting temples and shrines of the State. The Jaganath Temple can now boast of being a shade brighter than the Varanasi shrine beautified by the support of the colossally capable prime minister of India. VK's extremely cordial relationship with his bureaucratic colleagueshas made him the most respectably successful serving bureaucrat.
Come 2019 and it was all VK's hard work which helped Naveen choose his candidates wisely. BJD grabbed thumping victory. VK had always known too well that a few unworthy characters would have to be accommodated to get the right number of seats in hand to return to power so as to complete a number of pending projects to bring joy to the people.
Thus, the big win of 2019 catapulted VK to the highest portals of Naveen's administrative machinery. The boss kind of took oath never to unseat the young man so as to remain peaceful and relaxed on the political delivery front. VK would never misguide him, Naveen believed.
Interestingly, until 2022, VK chose to remain quite behind the curtain except for making appearances for a few very important dignitary meetings with the Chief Minister, some even over meals, where his absence would leave Naveen completely blank-headed as happens with the heads of political executives anywhere in the world. So, VK not being in excessive public glare had kept him calm and comfortable to think clearly and help the CM take sanest decisions with regard to public affairs.
Unfortunately by around the beginning of 2023, some rogues managing media and publicity campaigns at some goddamn place coaxed him to draw the curtain aside and come out to appear in full public glare. The happy, cool, noble-minded serving bureaucrat accepted a faulty command of the boss to trample across the state in a haywire style that has caused confusion among the masses that were in awe of the ‘once upon a time' hardest working, most trusted lieutenant who studied everything hard to weigh the pros and cons of all aspects and help the Chief Minister to take the most people-friendly decisions. VK now is kind of a mechanically-driven missionary on a wild chasetrying to enamour the masses with good things in mad hurry. This has begun causing trouble. The opposite camps have now found him easy prey. Detractors have begun roasting him on social media for spending huge money on not so very important projects and schemes. He is doing sole jobs fulltime on such little things which even stupid political creatures would find fruitless. For instance, funding to repair and renovate any and every place of worship is not a very appreciable social achievement. The Jagannath and Lingaraj Temples have a uniquely different dignity and value. These shrines are global tourism attractions. They earn big money for public purposes. Making them world-class locations was indeed a worthwhile project. But the countryside shrines could be given lustre by the local legislators with LAD funds. The Chief Minister should dispatch political colleagues as emissaries to get these little things achieved. VK is just too innocent a public servant going around the bush for no great outcome. He is inviting criticism from even street wage earners. The personal advisors particularly some madly wicked media crooks have jeopardised his enviable stature.
2024 victory is doubtlessly in store for BJD, not because everything is too fine with the party but because there is no substantial strength marked in the opposite camps. BJP is without a head; Congress has vanished in thin air. BJD boss better call VK off the fruitless mission without delay.
