Naveen Patnaik

Naveen Patnaik
Chief Minister of Orissa
Incumbent
Assumed office 5 March 2000
Governor	Murlidhar Chandrakant Bhandare
Preceded by	Hemananda Biswal
Personal details
Born	16 October 1946 (1946-10-16) (age 65) Cuttack, Orissa, India
Political party	Biju Janata Dal
Residence	Naveen Nivas, Bhubaneswar, Orissa
Alma mater	Delhi University
Profession	Writer Politician
Religion	Hinduism
Website	Official site Chief Minister of Orissa

Naveen Patnaik (Oriya: ନବୀନ୍ ପଟ୍ଟନାୟକ) (born 16 October 1946) is an Indian politician and the current Chief Minister of Orissa, India^[1] and the chief of Biju Janata Dal, a regional political party in Orissa.

Personal life

Naveen Patnaik was born in Cuttack, Orissa,(Belongs to Nuagam, near Bhanjanagar,Ganjam District.) to father Biju Patnaik, former Chief Minister and active freedom fighter of Orissa and mother Gyan Patnaik.^[2] At the age of 7 he was sent to Welham Boys' School, Dehradun, but later on shifted to the Doon School from where he obtained his Senior Cambridge Certificate at the age of 17. He attended the kirorimal College,^[3] Delhi University, where he obtained his Bachelor's Degree in Arts.

He is a life-long bachelor. His elder brother Prem Patnaik is a Delhi based businessman while his sister Gita Mehta is a renowned author and is the wife of Sonny Mehta, Editor-in-Chief of Alfred A. Knopf, New York.

Political career

Naveen Patnaik is a writer and had for most part of his youth been away from both politics as well as Orissa but after his father Biju Patnaik's demise he entered politics and a year later founded the Biju Janata Dal named after Biju patnaik which won the state election with the BJP as its alliance and formed the government with Naveen Patnaik as the Chief Minister. His mild mannerism, stand against corruption and "pro-poor policies" have resulted in the development of a huge support base in Orissa which has voted him to power in the last three consecutive terms. Like his father he had managed to control the otherwise errant and greedy bureaucracy and have transformed it to a machine for the development of the state.^[4]

He joined politics in 1997, after the death of his father Biju Patnaik,leader of the Janata Dal and was elected as a member to the 11th Lok Sabha in the by-election from Aska Parliamentary Constituency in Orissa, India. He was a member of the Consultative Committee of Ministry of Steel & Mines, Member of Standing Committee on Commerce, and Member Library Committee of Parliament. A year later the Janta Dal split and Naveen founded the Biju Janta Dal which in alliance with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) performed well and Naveen Patnaik was made the Union Minister for Mines in the cabinet of A.B.Vajpayee. However, as the BJD won majority of seats in alliance with the BJP in Orissa Assembly elections, Naveen Patnaik resigned from the Union cabinet and was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Orissa in 2000. Naveen Patnaik is widely projected as pro-poor as well as a "clean" and an "honest" person who did not hesitate to sack many political heavyweights on charges of corruption.

2004 Elections

All this led to the rise in the popularity of A B Bajpayee and the BJP, the NDA was again victorious in 2004 and Naveen Patnaik continued as the Chief Minister but the friction between the ruling partners, the BJD and the BJP was getting more and more apparent,especially after the killing of Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/jan/08guest.htm in Kandhamal district of Orissa in 2007–2008 and also active participation Bajrang Dal in Riots.Shri Naveen Patnaik is allegedly involved in Vedanta land scam,mining irregularities

2009 Elections

In the run-up to the polls for the Lok Sabha and Orissa Vidhan Sabha elections in 2009, BJD walked out of the NDA after severing ties with the right wing BJP and joined the nascent Third Front constituted mainly by the Left Front and few regional parties.^[5] This he did after severe criticism of BJP's involvement in Kondhamal anti Christian riot during 2007-08. The BJD won a resounding victory in both the Vidhan Sabha (State Assembly) as well as the Lok Sabha elections in 2009, bagging 14 out of 21 Lok Sabha seats and 103 of the 147 assembly seats and was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Orissa on May 21, 2009 for the third consecutive term.^[6]

Naveen Patnaik is also a founder member of the Indian National Trust for Art & Cultural Heritage (INTACH).

Writing career

He has authored three books: A Second Paradise: Indian Country Life 1590–1947], A Desert Kingdom: The people of Bikaner] and the Garden of Life: An introduction to the Healing Plants of India, each one published in India, England and U.S..

He is an ardent devotee of Maa Tara Tarini and often visits the abode of the mother goddesses, the breast shrine of Adi Shakti near Berhampur, Ganjam district.

References

1. ^ BJD strikes pre-poll alliance with CPM. Sify.com. Retrieved on 2010-12-25.
2. ^ Naveen Patnaik's master stroke in Orissa – Rediff.com India News. In.rediff.com (2009-03-11). Retrieved on 2010-12-25.
3. ^ http://orissa.gov.in/cmorissa/profile.asp
4. ^ For Naveen, politics is a way to complete father's agenda. Indianexpress.com (1997-05-10). Retrieved on 2010-12-25.
5. ^ Kandhamal caused BJP-BJD break-up: Naveen Patnaik – Politics News – IBNLive. Ibnlive.in.com (2010-02-03). Retrieved on 2010-12-25.
6. ^ [1]^{[dead link]}

External links

• Official site
• Notable personalities of Orissa, including Naveen Patnaik, in Orissadiary website
• Orissa's Accidental politician, BBC

Preceded by Hemananda Biswal

Chief Minister of Orissa 2000–present

Incumbent

Persondata
Name	Patnaik, Naveen
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	October 16, 1946
Place of birth	Cuttack, Orissa, India
Date of death
Place of death