Deciphering Naveen Patnaik: What is Odisha CM's political grammar?

The Odisha CM was once seen as the quintessential outsider, partly because of his struggle with the Odia language. Now he stands on the cusp of history

In April 2019, in the run-up to the elections to Odisha’s 21 Lok Sabha and 147 Assembly seats, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National President Amit Shah likened the Naveen Patnaik-led Odisha government to a “burnt transformer”. A couple of weeks later, addressing a public meeting at Kendrapara, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked the Odia people to accord a befitting farewell to their Chief Minister.
 

Patnaik met the BJP’s onslaught with an equanimous question to the state’s electorate, “Apana mane khushi ta (are you happy)?” In response, they elected a Biju Janata Dal (BJD) government with him at its helm, for