Naveen Patnaik Wiki, Age, Caste, Wife, Family, Biography

Naveen Patnaik is an Indian politician. He is the longest-serving Chief Minister of Odisha. He is also the founder of his party, Biju Janta Dal (BJD); which he named after his father.

Wiki/Biography

Naveen Patnaik was born on 16 October 1946 (age 72 years; as in 2018). His zodiac sign is Libra. He was born in Cuttack, Odisha. He did his schooling from Welham Boys School, Dehradun and the Doon School, Dehradun. His favourite subject in school was art and he loved oil painting. After his schooling, he went on to pursue Bachelors of Arts from the Kirori Mal College in New Delhi. After graduating from college, he went on to become an author. He wrote 4 books from 1985 to 1993. During this time, he met the former first lady of America, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, while she was visiting India in 1983. He has also authored two books with her and they were very good friends, she had even edited one of Naveen’s book. He loved travelling and often travelled to many places around the world. He spent most of his youth away from Odisha and had travelled extensively till the age of 50.

In 1965, he started an apparel boutique named Psychedelhi in the Oberoi Hotel, New Delhi along with a friend. His clients included many celebrities such as the legendary rock band The Beatles, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Paul McCartney, and many more. He even landed projects to supply designer clothes to outlets in London.

He entered into politics after the death of his father, Biju Patnaik, in 1997. His father was in the Janata Dal and the party wanted Biju’s children to represent the party and contest the elections from Biju Patnaik’s seat. After Naveen’s elder brother and sister declined the opportunity, Naveen took both their permissions and then agreed to contest the elections. He joined the Janata Dal and won the elections. He was elected as an MP and was appointed as the Union Minister for Mines in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Government. After Janata Dal dissolved in 1998, Naveen formed his own party and named it after his father, Biju Janata Dal (BJD).

Physical Appearance

Height: 5′ 10″

Weight: 80 kg

Eye Colour: Black

Hair Colour: White

Family, Caste & Wife

Naveen Patnaik belongs to the Karana caste. His father, Biju Patnaik, was a prominent Indian politician. His mother, Gyan Patnaik, was a pilot. He has an elder brother, Prem Patnaik, who is a businessman. His elder sister, Geeta Mehta, is a writer. He is unmarried.

Political Career

Naveen Patnaik came into politics only after his father’s demise in 1997. Biju Patnaik was the former Chief Minister of Odisha. It was important for the Janata Dal to retain Biju Patnaik’s seat, hence, they approached the children of Biju Patnaik. Prem and Geeta rejected the invitation to contest from their father’s seat. Naveen took his time and only after consulting and seeking the permission of his siblings, he agreed to contest from his father’s seat. He joined the Janata Dal in 1997 and won the General Elections of 1998. He was soon appointed as a Cabinet Minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Government.

After the Janata Dal was dissolved in 1998, he formed his own party, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD). He contested the Assembly Elections of Odisha in the year 2000 and his party won with an alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). On 5 March 2000, he resigned from the post of Union Minister of Mines and took oath as the Chief Minister of Odisha. He has ever since been the Chief Minister of Odisha. He is the longest serving CM of Odisha.

Awards, Honours & Achievements

• In 2013, Naveen Patnaik was honoured and appreciated by the United Nations Body for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women for backing 33 percent women in the Assembly.

• The United Nation appreciated and felicitated Naveen Patnaik for effectively carrying out Mission Zero Casualty during Cyclone Phailin; he was praised nationwide for handling the cyclone hit in such an organized way that not a single person was injured during the cyclone. The Disaster Management Entity of the United Nations honoured Odisha with the Best Disaster Management State; this made Odisha the first Southeast state in Asia to be given this honour.

• In 2017, he was awarded the Best Administrator in the Country Award by former President Pranab Mukherjee at the Outlook India Speakout Awards.

  Pranab Mukherjee Presenting Naveen Patnaik The Best Administrator Of The Country Award

• He was awarded the Ideal Chief Minister Award by former President Pratibha Patil in 2018.

  Naveen Patnaik Receiving The Ideal Chief Minister Award From Pratibha Patil

• In 2018, he was awarded the International Hockey Federation’s (FIH) President Award for promoting hockey in Odisha.

  Naveen Patnaik Revealing The Hockey Odisha World Cup Trophy

   

Controversies

• On 8 March 2009, BJD walked out of the BJP alliance. BJP tried to make it work by offering many solutions, but the alliance still ended. The BJP later accused Naveen Patnaik of walking out as his demands were not met and he was deliberately keeping illogical seat sharing ratios as he just wanted to walk out of the alliance.

• BJP MP, Srikant Kumar Jena, accused Naveen Patnaik of allowing the illegal mining of iron ore worth Rs. 2, 50, 000 Crores.

• In 2018, Baijyant Panda of the BJD was suspended from the party for anti-party activities. He later accused Naveen Patnaik of negligence in governance and not acting on corruption and not acting the way he used to when he became CM for the first time.

• On 15 April 2019, Patnaik stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not deserve a second term to be PM. He said that Modi did not fulfil his promises in the last five years and there was no improvement in unemployment, irrigation, and railways.

Address

Naveen Nivas, Aerodrome Road, Khurda District, Bhubaneshwar

Signature

Assets & Properties

Movable Assets: Rs. 17.75 Lacs
Cash: Rs. 25,000
Bank Deposits: Rs. 14.23 Lacs
Jewellery: Gold, Diamonds & Rubies worth Rs.2.12 Lacs

Properties: Rs. 63.10 Crores
Residential buildings in Faridabad, New Delhi, and Bhubaneshwar worth Rs. 63.10 Crores

Salary & Net Worth

Salary: Rs. 98,000 + other allowances (as the CM of Odisha)

Net Worth: Rs.63.86 Crores (as in 2019)

Facts

• Naveen Patnaik is a chain smoker. He also drinks his favourite Grouse Whiskey every evening and enjoys Dunhill cigarettes.

• Once while travelling abroad, he and his friends saw a film being shot. The main actor was Pierce Bronson and Naveen landed a small role in the film while he was overlooking the shooting. The film was The Deceivers; a 1988 film.

• When he became the Chief Minister of Odisha, he was strongly against corruption and negligence. If he heard from anywhere that a particular Government official is involved in corruption or is not doing his work properly, he would suspend them immediately. People loved him for this action being taken place, and it built an image of a strong non-compromising leader which believed in clean and fair politics.

  Naveen Patnaik

• Naveen Patnaik entered social media very late as he did not have a mobile phone until 2015.

  Naveen Patnaik Using A Mobile Phone

• Naveen Patnaik is often criticized by his opponent as he does not know the local language of Odisha; as Naveen had stayed away from Odisha almost all his life, he did not get a chance to learn the local language. He is often mocked in rallies when he tries to say a few statements in the local language. He is the only CM in India who does not know the local language of the state.

  Naveen Patnaik Addressing A Rally