Naveen Patnaik: Difference between revisions

Naveen Patnaik
Naveen Patnaik
Leader of the Opposition, ; Odisha Legislative Assembly
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; 20 June 2024
Governor	Raghubar Das; Kambhampati Hari Babu
Chief Minister	Mohan Charan Majhi
Preceded by	Jayanarayan Mishra
14th Chief Minister of Odisha
	In office; 5 March 2000 – 11 June 2024
Preceded by	Hemananda Biswal (INC)
Succeeded by	Mohan Charan Majhi (BJP)
Member of Odisha Legislative Assembly
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; 5 March 2000
Preceded by	Udayanath Nayak
Constituency	Hinjili
Union Minister of Mines and Minerals
	In office; 13 October 1999 – 4 March 2000
Prime Minister	Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Union Minister of Steel and Mines
	In office; 19 March 1998 – 13 October 1999
Prime Minister	Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Preceded by	Birendra Prasad Baishya
Succeeded by	Dilip Ray
Chairperson of Biju Janata Dal
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; 26 December 1997
Preceded by	position established
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
	In office; 12 April 1997 – 4 March 2000
Preceded by	Biju Patnaik
Succeeded by	Kumudini Patnaik
Constituency	Aska
Personal details
Born	16 October 1946 (age 79); Cuttack, Odisha, India (then Orissa Province, British India)
Political party	Biju Janata Dal (since 1997)
Other political; affiliations	Janata Dal (until 1997)
Parents	Biju Patnaik (father); Gyan Patnaik (mother);
Relatives	Prem Patnaik (brother) ; Gita Mehta (sister); Sonny Mehta (brother-in-law)
Residence	Naveen Nivas,; Aerodrome Road, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
Alma mater	The Lawrence School, Sanawar; The Doon School, Dehradun; Kirori Mal College, Delhi (BA)
Profession	Politician; writer;
Website	naveenpatnaik.in

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Latest revision as of 17:38, 21 March 2026

Naveen Patnaik (or; born 16 October 1946) is an Indian politician and writer, who is currently Leader of Opposition in Odisha Legislative Assembly. He served as the 14th Chief Minister of Odisha from 5 March 2000 to 12 June 2024.

He is the founding chairperson of the Biju Janata Dal, serving since 1997, and has represented the Hinjili Assembly constituency since 2000.^[2] He also served as the Union Minister of Steel and Mines from 1998 to 2000 and as a member of the Lok Sabha from Aska from 1997 to 2000.

Early life[edit | edit source]

Patnaik was born on 16 October 1946 in an aristocratic Karan family to Biju Patnaik, former Chief Minister of Odisha, and his wife, Gyan Devi.^[3]^[4]^[5]

He was educated at the Welham Boys' School in Dehradun, The Lawrence School, Sanawar and later The Doon School.^[6] At Doon, he was a classmate of Sanjay Gandhi and three years junior to Rajiv Gandhi, who later became prime minister of India.^[7]

After school, he went to the Kirori Mal College^[8] of Delhi University, and obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree.^[9]

Political career[edit | edit source]

Naveen Patnaik at the Opening Ceremony Hockey World Cup 2018

After the death of his father Biju Patnaik, leader of the Janata Dal,^[9] he was elected as a member to the 11th Lok Sabha in the by-election from Aska Parliamentary Constituency in Odisha, India.^[9] 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.

In December 1997, Naveen split from the Janata Dal and founded the Biju Janata Dal, named after Biju Patnaik.^[10] The new party went into alliance with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance for 1998 election. The alliance performed well winning 16 out of 21 seats and Naveen Patnaik was selected as the Union Minister for Mines in the cabinet of Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Chief Minister of Odisha[edit | edit source]

In the 2000 Assembly election, BJD won the majority of seats in alliance with the BJP in the Odisha Assembly elections, Patnaik resigned from the Union cabinet and was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Odisha. He took office on the 84th birth anniversary of his father.

BJP led NDA lost the general elections in 2004, however, the coalition led by Naveen Patnaik emerged victorious in the state legislative elections and he continued as the Chief Minister. During this tenure, the friction between the ruling partners was getting more and more apparent, especially after the killing of Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati^[11] in the Kandhamal district of Odisha in 2007–2008 and also the active participation of Bajrang Dal in the riots that hit Kandhamal region.

In the run-up to the polls for the Lok Sabha and Legislative Assembly of Odisha elections in 2009, BJD walked out of the NDA after severing ties with the BJP and joined the nascent Third Front constituted mainly by the Left Front and few regional parties.^[12] He did it after severely criticizing BJP's involvement in Kandhamal anti-Christian riots during 2008. The BJD won a resounding victory in both the Vidhan Sabha (State Assembly) as well as the Lok Sabha elections in 2009, winning 14 out of 21 Lok Sabha seats and 103 of the 147 assembly seats and was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Odisha on 21 May 2009 for the third consecutive term.^[13]

Patnaik won a huge victory in both the 2014 Indian general elections and the Legislative Assembly of Odisha elections in 2014. Patnaik's Biju Janata Dal secured 20 out of the 21 Lok Sabha seats of Odisha and 117 of the 147 Odisha Vidhan Sabha seats.^[14]

In spite of a strong BJP wave across the country, the Biju Janata Dal, under the leadership of Naveen Patnaik won as many as 112 seats out of 146 (polls for 1 was deferred) in the Legislative Assembly of Odisha and 12 out of 21 Lok Sabha seats in 2019 Indian general elections.

His 24-year tenure is the second longest for a chief minister of any Indian state, after Pawan Kumar Chamling of Sikkim.

Odisha Leader of Opposition[edit | edit source]

The Biju Janata Dal was voted out of power in the 2024 Odisha Legislative Assembly election as the party managed to win 51 seats in Legislative Assembly of Odisha, thus ending Patnaik's 24-year rule in Odisha. Patnaik was himself defeated in Kantabanji constituency by 16,344 votes, marking his first electoral defeat. However, he did win the Hinjili seat with a reduced margin compared to previous elections. In Lok Sabha elections, the BJD, for the first time, failed to win any of the seats it contested.^[15]^[16]

Ministry Details[edit | edit source]

#	Government	Designation	Portfolio	Tenure		Constituency
Government of India
1	Vajpayee II	Cabinet Minister	Ministry of Steel & Ministry of Mines & Minerals	19 March 1998	13 October 1999	Aska	BJD
2	Vajpayee III	Cabinet Minister	Ministry of Mines & Minerals	13 October 1999	4 March 2000	Aska
Government of Odisha
3	Naveen I	Chief Minister	Chief Minister Office	5 March 2000	15 May 2004	Hinjili	BJD
4	Naveen II	Chief Minister	Chief Minister Office	16 May 2004	21 May 2009
5	Naveen III	Chief Minister	Chief Minister Office	22 May 2009	20 May 2014
6	Naveen IV	Chief Minister	Chief Minister Office	21 May 2014	28 May 2019
7	Naveen V	Chief Minister	Chief Minister Office	29 May 2019	11 June 2024
8	Leader of Opposition, Odisha Legislative Assembly			19 June 2024	Incumbent

Electoral history[edit | edit source]

Odisha Legislative Assembly[edit | edit source]

Year	Constituency	Party		Votes	%	Opponent	Opponent Party		Opponent Votes	%	Result	Margin	%
2024	Kantabanji		BJD	74,532	36.56	Laxman Bag		BJP	90,876	44.57	Lost	-16,344	-8.01
2024	Hinjili	66,459	46.85	Sisir Mishra	61,823	43.59	Won	4,636	3.26
2019	Bijepur	110,604	59.78	Sanat Kumar Gartia	53,482	28.91	Won	57,122	30.87
2019	Hinjili	94,065	66.32	Pitambar Acharya	33,905	23.91	Won	60,160	42.41
2014		89,267	73.14	Sibaram Patra		INC	12,681	10.39	Won	76,586	62.75
2009		72,942	76.04	Raghaba Parida	11,669	12.17	Won	61,273	63.87
2004		62,968	72.71	Udayanath Nayak	20,326	23.47	Won	42,642	49.24
2000		56,243	65.35	Udayanath Nayak	29,826	34.65	Won	26,417	30.7

Lok Sabha[edit | edit source]

Year	Constituency	Party		Votes	%	Opponent	Opponent Party		Opponent Votes	%	Result	Margin	%
1999	Aska		BJD	359,178	74.90	Duti Krushna Panda		CPI	102,442	21.36	Won	256,736	53.54
1998	Aska	310,751	53.88	Chandra Sekhar Sahu		INC	224,540	38.93	Won	86,211	14.95

Criticisms[edit | edit source]

Patnaik spent most of his early days away from Odisha, so he had problems with writing and speaking fluently in the Odia language.^[17] He was the only chief minister of India who did not speak fluently the regional language of his state, and because of this, he faced severe criticism from his opponents. During his tenure, Patnaik had an adequate working knowledge of Odia, and he possessed great mastery over Hindi, French, Punjabi, and English. At rallies, he delivered Odia speeches written in the Roman alphabet.^[18]

Personal life[edit | edit source]

Patnaik is a writer and had spent most of his youth away from both politics and Odisha. However, after his father Biju Patnaik’s demise, he entered politics in 1997 and founded the Biju Janata Dal, named after his father. His mild manner and policies made his party hugely popular in the state.^[19]^[20] He is also one of the founding members of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage.^[21] His elder sister was the writer Gita Mehta, who died in 2023.^[22]

Accolades[edit | edit source]

Naveen Patnaik receiving Outlook Speakout award for best administrator from former President of India Pranab Mukherjee in the presence of Arun Jaitley

Award	Year	Conferrer	Event/Location
Lifetime Achievement Award	2022	N. V. Ramana	Capital Foundation National Awards
Hero to Animals Award	2020	PETA	Odisha, India
CSI E-Ratna Award	2020	Computer Society of India	53rd CSI Annual Convention
FIH President's Award	2018	International Hockey Federation	46th FIH Congress
Ideal Chief Minister	2018	Pratibha Patil	8th Indian Students' Parliament
Best Administrator in India	2017	Pranab Mukherjee	Outlook India Speak Out Awards 2017
United Nations Award	2013	United Nations	Odisha State Secretariat

Recognitions[edit | edit source]

In 2013, the United Nations felicitated Naveen by presenting a citation for his government's handling of Cyclone Phailin, which hit Odisha in October 2013. The body also announced that the state's efforts would be highlighted as a model for disaster management programs globally. Naveen was also invited by the international body to attend the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (WCDRR) in 2015, which was held in Sendai, Japan, from 14 to 18 March 2015.^[23]
In 2019, the United Nations complimented Naveen for his government's proposal to reserve 33% of seats for women in the National Parliament as well as in the state's Legislative Assembly.^[24]

Writings[edit | edit source]

A Second Paradise: Indian Courtly Life, 1590-1947 – Published in India, England and US^[25]
A Desert Kingdom: The People of Bikaner – Published in India, England and US^[26]
The Garden of Life: An Introduction to the Healing Plants of India – Published in India, England and US^[27]

References[edit | edit source]

↑ "Shri Naveen Patnaik". Odisha Legislative Assembly. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
↑ "From greenhorn to history-scripting politician". The Hindu. 18 May 2009. Archived from the original on 7 November 2020. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
↑ "Naveen Patnaik: From Reluctant Political Heir to Odisha's Longest Serving Chief Minister". NDTV. Archived from the original on 7 January 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
↑ Bhatt, Sheela (11 March 2009). "Naveen Patnaik's master stroke in Orissa". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 1 March 2016. Retrieved 25 December 2010.
↑ "How the Patnaiks, despite being 2% of Odisha's population, ruled the state for 45 years, and maybe beyond". The Economic Times. 11 May 2024. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 6 April 2025.
↑ Reshmi R Dasgupta (10 May 2004). "Naveen Patnaik sets stage for GeNext Doscos". The Economic Times. Retrieved 21 November 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
↑ Bhandare, Namita (16 June 1997). "Naveen Patnaik juggles his socialite pursuits with his party's socialist goals". India Today. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
↑ "Shri Naveen Patnaik – OdishaGovt". Archived from the original on 24 September 2022. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
↑ ^9.0 ^9.1 ^9.2 "Profile-Chief Minister of Orissa". Orissa. Gov.in. Archived from the original on 23 August 2011. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
↑ Banerjee, Ruben; Ansari, Javed M. (28 December 1997). "Janata Dal split in Orissa spells doom for both the party and Congress". India Today. Archived from the original on 17 January 2024. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
↑ "Local factors led to Kandhamal violence". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 2 November 2020. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
↑ "Kandhamal led to split with BJP: Patnaik". India Today. 16 May 2009. Archived from the original on 15 March 2022. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
↑ Jha, Nikhil (16 April 2019). "Rise and rise of BJD leader Naveen Patnaik: Has the Odisha chief minister hit a plateau?". Times Now. Archived from the original on 4 March 2021. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
↑ "Partywise Result". Archived from the original on 17 May 2014. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
↑ "Naveen Patnaik: The fall of a titan". The Hindu. 11 June 2024.
↑ "How BJP outsmarted BJD and conquered the state of Odisha". The Indian Express. 5 June 2024.
↑ "Odisha CM's Odia speech written in English goes viral, ridiculed". The Times of India. 17 May 2013. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 15 December 2023. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
↑ "Naveen Patnaik fails language test". Archived from the original on 4 April 2014. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
↑ For Naveen, politics is a way to complete father's agenda Archived 20 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine. Indianexpress.com (10 May 1997). Retrieved 25 December 2010.
↑ Shankar, Kalyani (4 January 2018). "From a soft-spoken socialite to a ruthless, authoritarian leader: Naveen Patnaik's two decades in Odisha". ThePrint. Archived from the original on 2 November 2020. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
↑ "INTACH Founding Members". INTACH. Archived from the original on 15 July 2020. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
↑ Bisoyi, Sujit Kumar (26 January 2019). "Gita Mehta: Naveen Patnaik's sister and author Gita Mehta declines Padma Shri award". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 26 March 2022. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
↑ "UN citation to Naveen for Phailin evacuation". Business Standard. India. 20 December 2013. Archived from the original on 5 June 2020. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
↑ "Women reservation: UN compliment for Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik". The Economic Times. 25 February 2019. Archived from the original on 26 February 2019. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
↑ Patnaik, Naveen (1 January 1985). Second Paradise: Indian Courtly Life 1590–1947. Doubleday Religious Publishing Group. ISBN 9780385199926.
↑ Patnaik, Naveen (1 January 1990). A Desert Kingdom: The Rajputs of Bikaner. Vendome Press. ISBN 9780865651227.
↑ Patnaik, Naveen (1 January 1993). The Garden of Life: An Introduction to the Healing Plants of India. Doubleday. ISBN 9780385424691.

External links[edit | edit source]

{{URL|example.com|optional display text}}
Notable personalities of Odisha, including Naveen Patnaik, in Orissadiary website
Notable personalities of Odisha as per the Govt. of Odisha official web site
Odisha's accidental politician, BBC
Official biographical sketch in Parliament of India website

[1] "Shri Naveen Patnaik". Odisha Legislative Assembly. Retrieved 14 August 2025.

[2] "From greenhorn to history-scripting politician". The Hindu. 18 May 2009. Archived from the original on 7 November 2020. Retrieved 4 January 2020.

[3] "Naveen Patnaik: From Reluctant Political Heir to Odisha's Longest Serving Chief Minister". NDTV. Archived from the original on 7 January 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2022.

[4] Bhatt, Sheela (11 March 2009). "Naveen Patnaik's master stroke in Orissa". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 1 March 2016. Retrieved 25 December 2010.

[5] "How the Patnaiks, despite being 2% of Odisha's population, ruled the state for 45 years, and maybe beyond". The Economic Times. 11 May 2024. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 6 April 2025.

[6] Reshmi R Dasgupta (10 May 2004). "Naveen Patnaik sets stage for GeNext Doscos". The Economic Times. Retrieved 21 November 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)

[7] Bhandare, Namita (16 June 1997). "Naveen Patnaik juggles his socialite pursuits with his party's socialist goals". India Today. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 15 March 2022.

[8] "Shri Naveen Patnaik – OdishaGovt". Archived from the original on 24 September 2022. Retrieved 24 September 2022.

[orissa.gov.in-9] 9.0 ^9.1 ^9.2 "Profile-Chief Minister of Orissa". Orissa. Gov.in. Archived from the original on 23 August 2011. Retrieved 27 May 2012.

[10] Banerjee, Ruben; Ansari, Javed M. (28 December 1997). "Janata Dal split in Orissa spells doom for both the party and Congress". India Today. Archived from the original on 17 January 2024. Retrieved 17 January 2024.

[11] "Local factors led to Kandhamal violence". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 2 November 2020. Retrieved 4 January 2020.

[12] "Kandhamal led to split with BJP: Patnaik". India Today. 16 May 2009. Archived from the original on 15 March 2022. Retrieved 15 March 2022.

[13] Jha, Nikhil (16 April 2019). "Rise and rise of BJD leader Naveen Patnaik: Has the Odisha chief minister hit a plateau?". Times Now. Archived from the original on 4 March 2021. Retrieved 15 March 2022.

[14] "Partywise Result". Archived from the original on 17 May 2014. Retrieved 22 May 2014.

[15] "Naveen Patnaik: The fall of a titan". The Hindu. 11 June 2024.

[16] "How BJP outsmarted BJD and conquered the state of Odisha". The Indian Express. 5 June 2024.

[17] "Odisha CM's Odia speech written in English goes viral, ridiculed". The Times of India. 17 May 2013. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 15 December 2023. Retrieved 15 December 2023.

[HT-18] "Naveen Patnaik fails language test". Archived from the original on 4 April 2014. Retrieved 17 June 2014.

[19] For Naveen, politics is a way to complete father's agenda Archived 20 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine. Indianexpress.com (10 May 1997). Retrieved 25 December 2010.

[Spartan-20] Shankar, Kalyani (4 January 2018). "From a soft-spoken socialite to a ruthless, authoritarian leader: Naveen Patnaik's two decades in Odisha". ThePrint. Archived from the original on 2 November 2020. Retrieved 31 August 2020.

[21] "INTACH Founding Members". INTACH. Archived from the original on 15 July 2020. Retrieved 11 August 2020.

[22] Bisoyi, Sujit Kumar (26 January 2019). "Gita Mehta: Naveen Patnaik's sister and author Gita Mehta declines Padma Shri award". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 26 March 2022. Retrieved 26 March 2022.

[23] "UN citation to Naveen for Phailin evacuation". Business Standard. India. 20 December 2013. Archived from the original on 5 June 2020. Retrieved 5 June 2020.

[24] "Women reservation: UN compliment for Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik". The Economic Times. 25 February 2019. Archived from the original on 26 February 2019. Retrieved 26 February 2019.

[25] Patnaik, Naveen (1 January 1985). Second Paradise: Indian Courtly Life 1590–1947. Doubleday Religious Publishing Group. ISBN 9780385199926.

[26] Patnaik, Naveen (1 January 1990). A Desert Kingdom: The Rajputs of Bikaner. Vendome Press. ISBN 9780865651227.

[27] Patnaik, Naveen (1 January 1993). The Garden of Life: An Introduction to the Healing Plants of India. Doubleday. ISBN 9780385424691.

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Political offices
Preceded by Hemananda Biswal (INC)	Chief Minister of Odisha (5 March 2000 – 12 June 2024)	Succeeded by Mohan Charan Majhi (BJP)
Political offices
Preceded by Jayanarayan Mishra (BJP)	Leader of the Opposition, Odisha Legislative Assembly (Since 19 June 2024)	Succeeded by Incumbent
Party political offices
Preceded by Office Established	President Biju Janata Dal (Since 1997)	Succeeded by Incumbent
State Legislative Assembly
Preceded by Udayanath Nayak (INC)	Member of the Odisha Legislative Assembly from Hinjili (Vidhan Sabha constituency) (Since 2000)	Succeeded by Incumbent
Lok Sabha
Preceded by Biju Patnaik (JD)	Member of Parliament from Aska (1998-2000)	Succeeded by Kumudini Patnaik (BJD)

v t e Members of the 13th Lok Sabha from Odisha
BJD (10)	Arjun Charan Sethi Bhartruhari Mahtab Braja Kishore Tripathy Jagannath Mallik Prabhat Kumar Samantraya Trilochan Kanungo Padmanava Behera Prasanna Kumar Patasani Naveen Patnaik Prasanna Acharya
BJP (9)	Anandicharan Sahu Ananta Nayak Bikram Keshari Deo Debendra Pradhan Jual Oram Mahamegha Bahan Aira Kharbela Swain Parsuram Majhi Salkhan Murmu Sangeeta Kumari Singh Deo
Congress (2)	Hema Gamang Kamakhya Prasad Singh Deo
12th LS members 14th LS members