Be it the trend in favour of regional parties or the decline of the national parties like the Congress , the Biju Janata Dal under the able leadership of Naveen Patnaik has had a historic unmatched run of success ever since its formation two decades ago. It has shattered political records of Odisha, defied political arithmetic and well established political theories.

A ‘political novice’ making his debut and turning out to become chief minister for four successive terms clearly outshining his illustrious father – the legendary Biju Patnaik , in terms of remaining in power was unimaginable in 1997 when the party named after Biju babu was formed. For one, no regional party had ever lasted in Odisha.

Many stalwarts had floated regional outfits in Odisha and failed – be it the Ganatantra Parishad, a princely formation led by Rajendra Narayan Singh Deo which did succeed in the late fifties and early seventies after it merged with Swatantra Party, the Jana Congress of Dr Harekrushna Mahatab after he quit the Congress, the Utkal Congress by Biju Patnaik or the ones formed by unquestionable leaders like Nandini Satpathy to more recent ones like Odisha Gana Parishad, Aam Odisha, Utkal Bharat etc.

In fact till 1980 , Odisha never had a government that lasted its full five year term, largely due to coalition break-ups. It was J B Patnaik of the Congress who broke this trend and ruled for two successive terms till 1990 and returned to power again in 1995.

The first hint of a regional party being mulled came about during Biju babu’s last stint as a Opposition leader in and around 1995-96 when many found the Janata Dal cracking in to splinter groups.

The seeds of a regional party were sown by his political confidants like Dilip Ray, Bijay Mahapatra, A U Singh Deo, Prasanna Acharya and others, many of whom are no longer in the BJD.

The idea caught on. Biju Babu’s death spurred these leaders in to action as they had to fill the huge political vacuum and they needed one from his family to take over the mantle.

The family decided on Naveen Patnaik. Biju Janata Dal was born with the blessings of Gyan Patnaik, mother of Naveen .

Since then there has been no looking back for the party and its supremo Naveen Patnaik.

The soft spoken , publicity shy Naveen Patnaik struck a cord with the people of Odisha. His lack of oratory skills as well as Odia language became an advantage as the masses were in awe of a gentleman – in sharp contrast to the run of the mill politician – promising to work for development of Odisha and fulfill the dreams of Biju babu.

Quickly, he learnt the tricks of politics. Silently he eliminated stalwarts and a few founding members of the party who were perceived a potential threat to him.

The BJD, under his leadership, encashed on the Vajpayee charisma as part of the NDA and went for simultaneous elections foregoing one year of his first term 2000-2004 .

Vajpayee, Advani , Pramod Mahajan et all were more than willing to encourage Naveen Patnaik. It was formative years for the BJD and as it slowly built a impregnable fortress.

Having established himself and the party, Naveen Patnaik sprung a political coup of sorts taking even seasoned campaigners like Vajpayee and Adavni by surprise when he marched out of the NDA fold to fight elections on his own in 2009 in the backdrop of the ghastly Kandhamal communal riots.

The BJD trumped in 2009 and repeated the victory in thumping style in 2014 despite the “Modi wave”.

The regional party had come to stay and play a long innings staving off attempts by national parties and even a revolt from within by Pyarimohan Mahapatra in 2012.

The BJP was never ever a force in Odisha and the Congress on the down slide. The BJD was the only dominant political force.

But the hallmark of the BJD – its leader Naveen Patnaik remained to be its sharp focus on governance , welfare schemes and above all the supremo’s non-abusive politics.

In fact the personality and leader of Naveen Patnaik has been such that neither the UPA nor the NDA governments at the centre treated him as a political adversary nor were aggressive against him.

“Our work speaks” is what Naveen Patnaik often states as he implicitly takes a dig at the high blitz campaign and propaganda of the BJP.

The reduction of poverty levels, infant mortality rates, the schemes for women and children , workers etc have made a mark. Investments poured in during the phase of boom in the metal sector.

The BJD government focussed on education and health attracting private hospitals and institutes of high repute to the state as many of these like the IT sector were looking at tier three cities and found Bhubaneswar to be most conducive . Ease of going business, Smart City attracted them.

Of late, sports, a much neglected sector , has picked up with the Asian Athletic championship and the world hockey league being successfully conducted. Odisha has become the new hockey cradle of the country.

The bureaucracy is comfortable with him, (critics including his ministers however decry the over dominance of the bureaucracy), and hence the delivery of implementation turns out to be smooth.

Looking ahead as it celebrates its 20th Foundation Day tomorrow , the BJD, has a new challenge – the emergence of the BJP as a force in the state replacing the traditional Congress rival and the depressed economic situation ( mines, metal sector struggling to pick up).

BJD leaders are confident of continued support from the people of the state. The leader Naveen Patnaik had stated there is no anti-incumbency as his government has worked for the people and the welfare programmes were doing well.

He has already started working for 2019 – issuing directive to party MLA’s and MPs to register booth level workers and voters.

The bureaucracy has also been told to ensure proper implementation of schemes and that a performance report would be conducted .

People have faith and trust on the BJD, they are aware that the regional party is the best bet to protect their interests, say supremely confident BJD leaders. Above all there is none to match our leader Naveen Patnaik in terms of his charisma, they added.
The rather hackneyed “ central neglect” slogan will be used to the hilt by the BJD yet again with the Mahanadi water dispute, Polavaram project, enhancement of MSP, curtailment of central funds to various projects built up as major issues to play the regional card in the days to come.