By Biswaraj Patnaik in Puri, August 21, 2017: Naveen Patnaik was firm in his instruction from Delhi to BJD functionaries back home about the lowest–key celebration be held over the award of ‘best administrator’ a couple of days ago.

Though it’s a bright feather in his cap, he takes it without much excitement, mainly because he has been getting such rewards since 2004; and more so as the time now is grim with Utkal Express having met with a severe accident with big passenger casualties and severe injury apart from other damage.

Besides, never has he celebrated such events as he strongly feels it’s the people who have won the awards, not him individually. Without the support of the ordinary masses, he couldn’t have come thus far.

But while masses of people from all over thronged in amazing numbers at the airport to express joy and pride and revel over Naveen’s latest ‘Best Administrator’ award.

Interestingly, some big BJP leaders have gone sick. They have been struck down by an untreatable ‘jealousy fever’. The BJP loudmouths and frontliners including ‘Oilman’ Dharmendra Pradhan seems to be suffering the most. This tiny-hearted, pinheaded Pradhan fellow in an artificial ‘larger-than-fit’ robe, seems to have begun imagining he is exceptionally big a figure and so can go scot free by passing indecent, inappropriate and vulgar comments about a Hero being given a rousing WELCOME on return home.

“These magazine awards are available to anyone who gives big amount ad revenue to publications,” the Petroleum Pradhan thundered in public, “Naveen is flaunting a dim lantern in broad daylight” – meaning the mere ‘lamp’ makes no sense when the sunshine is so bright.

The cheap, rustic and essentially vulgar proverbial utterance has exposed the little fellow’s meanness, which he cannot roll back ever again. Taking pride in ones own fellow being’s achievement is age-old Indian culture. Mr Oil does not seem to have the least idea of what culture is.

No surprise, he has sought refuse in Bihar because his father’s constituency discarded him. Believably a master in Anthropology, the fundamentals of which he must have eaten up and flushed out by now, his head has lost sense and begun functioning less than the capacity granted by God. Hence his headless reactions about his own chief minister.

Naveen may not be the best ‘people’s politician’ in the world. But he is surely one in India. The Outlook ‘Speakout’ award was determined on the basis of ordinary people’s online voting across the country, which Pradhan may not know. Arun Jaitley his own senior colleague of the BJP got an award too. Jaitley in control of much bigger monetary resources, may have paid huge sums of money to the Outlook organisers, as per Talcher Pradhan’s version and comment.

Interestingly, when Dharmendra Pradhan was given a Union ministerial berth in 2014, the whole of Odisha had rejoiced like mad including the BJD ranks and files. But as time trolled by, Pradhan turned a ‘non-Odisha’ person and put in all strength and might to bring up Bihari colonies at the Paradip oil refinery establishment by warding off Odias and inducting countless Bihar and non-Odia employees. The negligible number of Odias that one bumps into there, is only menial or the lowest–wrung worker community taking orders from all around there.

It is known fact that Dharmendra had lost base in Odisha by the end of Naveen’s second stint. So and cleverly sought refuge elsewhere by flaunting his RSS and ABVP cards before the BJP decision makers. Some BJP bosses took pity and accommodated him only because his father Dr Debendra Pardhan had retired due to old age. The senior Dr Pradhan was a minister in the Vajpayee government. Shockingly, this ‘oil guy’ does not even remember his illustrious father at any public gathering. His insipid and boring rhetoric does not include ‘Dr Pradhan’ even as an expression. Dharmendra, having gone haywire in the head, is suffering from temporary amnesia due to wicked ideas overflowing in the infertile head.

Naveen has been adjudged the best CM ever since 2004 by the highly credible and popular magazine ‘India Today’. Around that time all the BJP guys as allies had celebrated Naveen’s achievement. It also needs to be mentioned that most of the BJP ministers in the coalition had become defamed in good time. Prashant Nanda, a BJP recruit was tossed out of the ministry with several others for terrible corruption and graft cases. Nanda, after having reformed himself, returned through the toilet door much later after having tried some worthless parties and realised that without being in BJD, political life would end miserably.

Samir Dey too messed up his affairs. He started doling out valuable land for songs, particularly unscrupulous high court judges in return for personal favours. Manmohan Samal too did not have much quality to keep him floating happily. Harichandan et al promoted sons and relatives who are only barking out at television shows without much substance or soul. Now suddenly, Dharmendra has become hero among them and is being projected as chief ministerial stuff for the 2019-2024 period.

Dharmendra Pradhan entered into the realm of politics as a member of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). In 1985, he was elected as the President of Talcher College Students’ Union. He became national secretary of ABVP and president of the Yuva Morcha. Defying the spirit of secular spirit of the great country, he participated in all campaigns related to reservations on the basis of religion.

Popular father Dr Pradhan left his seat in 2004 thus paving the way for his son Dharmendra to win the Lok Sabha elections of 2004 from the Deogarh constituency. But Pradhan lost the subsequent elections because he did not have the popularity, magnanimity or humility of his illustrious father. He became arrogant and haughty with a dole-out status of minister. Some fools in the ailing BJP outfit had only murmured his name once or twice, as contender against the mighty Naveen Patnaik. Ever since that moment, ‘Mr temporary Oil’ has inflated himself too badly to keep boasting of taking over the state of Odisha in 2019. His wild dreams have emanated from his boss Amit Shah who has promised India that in 2019, he would rule Odisha with 120 BJP legislators.

An online survey conducted by the Outlook India magazine placed Naveen along with five other chief ministers Nitish Kumar (Bihar), Mamata Banerjee (West Bengal), Devendra Fadnavis (Maharashtra), Manik Sarkar (Tripura) and Siddaramaiah (Karnataka) in the nominations for the coveted award. But Naveen Patnaik left behind all others in the race to be selected the best administrator.

“The 71-year-old Naveen Patnaik has been a Chief Minister for more than 17 years in Odisha, a feat accomplished by only a few leaders, such as Jyoti Basu, elsewhere in the country. Many attribute the success of the Biju Janata Dal president, son of former chief minister Biju Pattnaik, to his good work as an administrator. His handling of the situation arising out of the various cyclones is considered to be a copybook lesson in disaster management”, stated the online magazine.

However, opposition parties including BJP and Congress have questioned the ‘parameters’ on the basis of which Naveen Patnaik was rated as the top administrator among several other chief ministers in the country.

“It is totally a sponsored thing as there has been no development in state, On what parameters Outlook rated Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik as Best Administration needs to be analysed,” BJP general secretary, Prithviraj Harichandan. Mr Oil Master of India too screams, “Naveen’s Best Administrator Award Is Publicity Stunt.” God save the BJP outfit in Odisha. They have too many warring factions within.

Instead of pelting stones at heroes, they better devote some quality time to setting the house in order. Bijay Mahapatra and Dilip Ray are members who might fix some of the saffron loudmouths before abandoning the fold in disgust. Dharmendra Pradhan would do great BJP service by placating the disgruntled veterans in question and patching up with furious BJD grassroots workers. Or else doom is what they should expect in 2019. The number might hit a single digit!

In the 17 years of governance, Naveen is known to be making efforts to transform Odisha into a developing state. His clean and credible image has made him one of the most popular politicians in the country.

An honest, clean and credible image has become more important than the record of economic performance as the key parameter in accounting for the popularity of chief ministers.