Greetings pour in for Naveen on 78th birthday

Bhubaneswar: Wishes poured in for former chief minister of Odisha and BJD president Naveen Patnaik on his 78th birthday on Wednesday.
Apart from wishes on social media platforms, several visitors including party leaders, people from different sectors, school and college students thronged Naveen Niwas to greet the leader. Naveen celebrated his birthday this year after several years.
He was greeted by Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan, chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi, speaker Surama Padhy, actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan and senior DMK leader Kanimozhi.
BJD organised blood donation camps and community outreach programmes in all assembly constituencies. Party workers led by Puri MLA Sunil Mohanty organised a mass diya lightning event in front of Jagannath Temple in Puri on Wednesday wishing long and healthy life to their leader.
Representatives from various organisations, including Prajapita Brahmakumari Ishwariya Vishwavidyalaya, and students also conveyed him birthday greetings.
Naveen, son of former chief minister Biju Patnaik was born in Cuttack on October 16, 1946. He was an alumnus of Doon School and St Stephen’s.
He entered politics after winning the Lok Sabha by-election from Aska in 1997, a seat that became vacant after his father’s demise.
The same year, he parted ways with the Janata Dal and established BJD.
In the subsequent Lok Sabha elections, Naveen’s party formed an alliance with BJP, and he secured a position in Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s govt as steel and mines minister.
Naveen was elected as chief minister of Odisha for the first time in 2000 when the state was still grappling with the aftermath of the devastating 1999 super cyclone.
However, after a remarkable 24-year tenure, making him the second longest serving CM in the nation’s history, his party suffered a defeat in the recent Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in 2024.