By Nageshwar Patnaik in Bhubaneswar, April 8, 2015

“Pappu can’t dance, saala”, goes the popular song from a film. Odisha chief minister and Biju Janata Dal president, Naveen ‘Pappu’ Patnaik (Pappu is the nickname of this youngest son of Biju Patnaik) not only can dance, but also has become so confident that he could hoot the Bharatiya Janata Party [BJP].

Pappu did not let Modi magic work in the state in 2014 Lok Sabha and Odisha Assembly polls. Now he repeated the same feat in the urban polls by ensuring his party’s clean sweep. He virtually made the opposition BJP and Congress irrelevant in state politics at this juncture.

The Doon School-educated socialite, who once partied with Jackie Kennedy and Gore Vidal, has now established himself as a ruthless regional satrap.

The cool chief minister by now has shattered many myths about realpolitick.

First of all he has proved that his inability to speak Odia, the state’s language – need not necessarily a bad thing.

Secondly, Naveen may have started out as Biju Patnaik’s son reinforcing the dynastic politics in the state. But today he has surpassed his father in charisma and durability.

Third, by emphasizing development above all, he has notched up a reputation among the public as pro-people, which is clearly reflected in the polls all through his short but eventful career.

Naveen Patnaik’s own clean image and his high profile campaigns against corruption continue to be his greatest asset despite the media and opposition raking up multi-billion mining and chit fund scams.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his ministerial colleagues and BJD president Amit Shah had targeted Naveen in all their public meetings in the state since BJP came to power last year. But it has not cut much ice with the public which is evident by the outcome of polls for urban bodies.

With Naveen’s popularity totally intact, now both the Congress and BJP are vying to endear him. While Prime Minister Modi on April 1 alluded him as a param mitra [great friend] and thanked him for the BJD’s support for the passage of Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation [Amendment] Bill, former union minister, and Congress leader, Jairam Ramesh on Monday literally begged Naveen for his support to oppose the passage of Land Acquisition Bill in the Rajya Sabha on the ground that the Bill is anti-farmer.

Exposed to the intricacies of inter and intra-party deals and dealings, Naveen now will play his card close to his chest.

His next move would signal whether he would continue to maintain his party’s declared stand of equi-distance from both the Congress and BJP or he would seize the opportunity to continue his tacit support to Modi in exchange of more funds and development activities for the state.