Biju Patnaik enjoyed unquestioned popularity: Odisha CM

Former Odisha Chief Minister Biju Patnaik had an innate grasp of the Odia temper and devoted his entire life in restoring optimism among people and thus enjoyed unquestioned popularity, the coastal state's chief minister Naveen Patnaik today said.
Patnaik was here attending the presentation ceremony of a book on his father titled 'The Tall Man Biju Patnaik'.
"He had an innate grasp of the Odia temper and devoted his entire life in restoring optimism among people. Perhaps, that is why, he enjoyed a large and largely unquestioned popularity among people," he said.
He added that no other leader occupied the imagination of the people of Odisha like him. He said timeless fortitude, persistance and respect for the common man had made Biju Patnaik a unique personality.

"He devoted his life to build a new era of progress and did it with a combination of skilled statesmanship and innovative spirit," the Odisha CM said.
"Take any aspect of modern Odisha's development, you will definitely find the footprints of Biju Patnaik. There are few personalities in the pre and post Independence politics of India like him, who have become legends in their lifetime," he added.