In his 24 years of uninterrupted rule in Odisha, Naveen Patnaik has suffered a lasting blow on his face dealt by the Bharatiya Janata Party after losing the 2024 general elections rather very ignominiously.

Bharatiya Janata Party has been able to smash the once invincible citadel of the  24 year old political fortress of Naveen Patnaik and the Biju Janata Dal that has been ruling Odisha so far.

Which had become a legacy in the history of politics by Patnaik’s persona as a cool and composed leader in the country.

What spelt the debacle for Patnaik is stated to be an alleged IAS turned BJD leader who has been shadowing the CM for over the last two years uninterruptedly. In fact, the former officer greasing his own palm  is what has remained the common cry among the people on the streets, in official corridors and inside the BJD. That was V K Pandian’s hidden design to captivate the mind of Patnaik through all cheap gimmicks at every given opportunity.

Thus knowingly or unknowingly spoiling the entire image of Patnaik who till the other day was held in high esteem as a matchless politician with a demeanor that, perhaps’ any other politician possesses.

His quietness and composed quality had remained his strength that allegedly Pandian dragged into a pedestrian level in the name of campaign and caricatures thus soiling the image of Patnaik decisively.     

“The paradigm shift in the political narrative of Patnaik was allegedly the same man V K Pandian who allegedly hijacked the power from Patnaik in a crafty manner taking advantage of his age and his struggle to manage his health” said Dilip Bosoi, senior political analyst

Further adding he said that, “Pandian is now is the punching bag of common men everywhere, right from tea shops to anywhere who only curse Pandian as the fall guy who tactfully took the campaign stages everywhere isolating all political leaders and at times the CM even that has stoked a kind of revolt among the people and the party cadre against the former for making politics to a farcical low that ignited hatred among people for the BJD and by implication for the CM”.

Regardless of what were the languages used by the BJP, but Pandian was visibly offensive in his deliberations those were obviously alien to Naveen’s school of politics that he is known for.

Now that the BJD’s fate in Odisha has taken a nose-dive and that too ignominiously, both in the Assembly and Lok Sabha, time has come for Naveen Patnaik to distance himself from active politics and simply retire, feel some political observers.

In view of his age and decline in agility he would never be comfortable to occupy the seat of an opposition leader and after him “ the party is bound to face a fragmentation within and may be suffer a collapse in the future” said Priya Ranjan Sahoo, senior Journalist

Or it can be as well said that, Patnaik even possibly had never had his ears to the ground to listen to the whispers even within the political grapevines thus allowing the rot created by Pandian to become an incurable sore for Naveen.

Even people within the BJD also confide that Patnaik simply got himself hung by his own petard and today he is in the middle of a whirlwind of uncertainties as to what to do.

“We had no access to the party chief who was virtually shadowed by Pandian who tried his best to isolate Patnaik from everything as a result none of us had the opportunity to communicate with him at all “ confided another BJD leader.

Painfully it can be said that time will never be the same for Patnaik anymore although people still recall his legacy with respect and remorse.