Those who remember the post-2009 election scenario must realise how politics changes its leaders. The leaders who were so close to each other’s heart in 2009 are now poles apart five years later.
This was evident when both Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and Rajya Sabha member Pyarimohan Mohapatra travelled by the same flight from Bhubaneswar to New Delhi on Tuesday.While Patnaik was on his way in a holiday to Delhi after completing a hectic electioneering across the State, Mohapatra along with wife was also going to the national Capital.According to eyewitnesses, when Patnaik entered the aircraft, Mohapatra was already seated in the business class. The latter wished Patnaik first and the Chief Minister reciprocated.However, there was no exchange of words between the two, who were close to each other for more than a dozen of years.
“We have seen how close Naveen and Pyari were during the 2009 general elections. Both of them used to spend hours together discussing politics,” pointed out an insider, who was also travelling by the same flight.Patnaik and Mohapatra now do not see each other even though the physical distance between them is barely a few feet in an aircraft. In fact, they have been separated by miles away as far as mental attachment is concerned, the people travelling in the flight observed.
When both of them got down the flight in Delhi, there was also no eye contact between them, forget about exchange of pleasantries, said a co-passenger.