Bhubaneswar : As the general elections draw close political heat in the state is rising with chief minister Naveen Patnaik, who also happens be the president of Biju Janata Dal (BJD), Odisha’s most successful regional party, trying to counter BJP’s religion card by launching a drive to re-develop and beautify the major shrines of the state.
Being touted as a move to protect and preserve the religio-cultural heritage of the state, this re-development drive is also being seen as an attempt by Patnaik to create his own legacy. The first major step in this direction was taken some time ago with the inauguration of the Puri Jagannath temple heritage corridor project, an event attended by thousands of people who praised the chief minister for his initiative.
Barely ten days after that the chief minister inaugurated the redeveloped Samaleswari Temple in Sambalpur district, one of the most revered shrines in the western region of the state. The 16th-century Samaleswari Temple on the banks of the Mahanadi has undergone a complete transformation with the beautification work spread over 39 acres of its peripheral area under a Rs 200-crore project. Amenities such as a boarding house for pilgrims, a park, a cafeteria, new Trust Board Office and a museum have come up as part of the Samaleswari Temple Area Management and Local Economy Initiatives (SAMALEI) project. Patnaik, who is keenly aware of the popular sentiments attached to the shrine, unveiled the SAMALEI project after offering prayers at Maa Samaleswari temple in the presence of dignitaries, temple priests and servitors. The chief minister also joined the yajna performed on the occasion.
Political observers have been quick to link such moves with the coming elections but the fact is that work had been going on such projects for quite some time now. While the Patnaik-led government is certain to get political benefit out of these projects in an election year the work was done keeping popular sentiments in mind. Patnaik, who has his own way of connecting with people, said in a video message that Odisha will always remember those who volunteered to forego their land for the SAMALEI project. The chief minister also said that the project would help boost tourism and local economy in the western region.
Irrespective of what Patnaik’s intentions are he and his party are bound to draw political mileage out of his work for the development and preservation of major shrines in the state since the move has generated a groundswell of public sentiment in his favour. The move is an inflection point that may significantly impact the outcome of the coming elections. This is also the best way to counter the propaganda of the BJP which happens to be the main opposition party in the state.
In his fifth term as the chief minister of the state Naveen Patnaik has also been paying special attention to improvement of governance which he has sought to achieve through transformative initiatives like 5T and Mo Sarkar. Both have helped bring down the level of corruption while significantly bridging the gap between the government and the people.
Equally importantly his party has coined a new slogan, “Naveen Odisha” which literally means new Odisha but is also a reference to chief minister Naveen Patnaik who has been trying hard to transform the state during the last 22 years of his uninterrupted rule. “Naveen Odisha” is not just a slogan, it is a motto and an article of faith for Biju Janata Dal (BJD) workers and leaders.
They have pledged to work towards building a new Odisha. Naveen Odisha is also a measure of the chief minister’s self-confidence which has grown by leaps and bounds since 1997 when he took his first steps in politics. Over the years he has built up a formidable reputation for himself. His public image, which remains his greatest asset till date, is the result of a raft of pro-poor schemes he has launched over the years and his new governance initiatives like Mo Sarkar which has become an example for the rest of the country. While his poverty alleviation schemes such as rice for Rs.1 per kg and meals for Rs.5 under Aahar Yojana have generated a lot of goodwill the KALIA scheme, that provides incentives to farmers, has proved to be a boon for the state’s farming sector. It has been hailed by economic experts as a unique scheme which instead of making farmers dependent solely on government loans helps them become self-reliant.
Patnaik enjoys a huge following among the youth of the state who take pride in the fact that the BJD government has not only launched special initiatives for them but also turned Odisha into the new sports capital of India. They cannot thank the chief minister enough for hosting two back to back Men’s World Cup Hockey tournaments in the state. Odisha is the only state in the country to enjoy this distinction. Odisha’s sponsorship of men and women national hockey teams also brought the state into international focus. On the cultural front Patnaik has been striving hard to protect and promote Odisha’s cultural diversity with special attention to its tribal heritage. While schemes have been launched exclusively for economic and social development of tribal communities there is also an effort to promote tribal languages like Santhali.
Through the Mission Shakti department the government has been relentlessly trying to empower women, especially poor women by providing them livelihood options. The department led by its commissioner-cum-secretary Sujata Karthikeyan, caters to the needs of nearly 70 lakh women organized under women collectives or self-help groups (SHGs). These women have set several new records and the growing popularity of these SHGs can be gauged from the fact that one of the oldest SHG leaders, Pramila Bisoi, was made BJD’s Lok Sabha candidate from Aska in 2019. Through such initiatives the chief minister has been able to win the support of women who remain loyal voters of his party. They have been voting for his party faithfully in every election. Patnaik has also launched many other women-specific schemes over the years.
