Incoming BJP govt's Odisha problem: Finding a house for its CM

These are twin posers facing the BJP in Odisha. While it is hunting for a suitable name to take charge as the new CM of Odisha, it must also find a proper home for the new incumbent.

Bhubaneswar is buzzing with this new quandary.

The new BJP government will be sworn in on June 12. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to arrive in Bhubaneswar and attend the oath-taking ceremony at Janata Maidan.

Any other time the solution would have been easy. The new CM would move into the digs where the previous one was. But Naveen Patnaik, former CM of Odisha, liked doing things his way.

In his 24-year tenure, he operated from his personal home, Naveen Niwas, which effectively served as the Chief Minister's residence. Sparse furniture, few personal artefacts and even fewer self-aggrandizing portraits – it never looked like a power centre.

After being sworn in as chief minister in 2000, he opted to work from his own home rather than a government-allocated house. This decision set a unique precedent in the state's political history.

All official and administrative work was conducted from Naveen Niwas. When Naveen Patnaik was only 16 years old, his father, the legendary Biju Patnaik, had a house named after his son. 38 years later, when Naveen took over charge as the CM, he thought of doffing his hat to his illustrious father. And that took the shape of naming schemes and awards, parks, sports complexes and even a university after him.

I recall interviewing Naveen at his Niwas. And he had nothing but contempt for the media milling around in his extended drawing room. He wondered aloud why they descended there every day. His contempt laced with scepticism was embellished with a quiet sense of humour. That happens when a person is well educated.

So, where does the new CM go to stay?

Several vacant quarters, including the current Chief Minister's Grievance Cell, have been shortlisted. However, the transition cannot be immediate. Once a space is selected, it would undergo necessary renovations with fancy bells and whistles.

The most delightful colloquial parlance is the phrase “quarters” used to define a CM residence. Possibly, a hangover from our colonial past this tag still stands. From servants’ quarters to MLA s’ quarters to CM’s quarters. The tag sticks like a limpet.

And while the wheels churn to find a proper house, the state administration is planning to prepare a suite in the State Guest House as a “temp-acco” for the new Chief Minister.

Nothing has been able to match the prestige of Naveen Niwas. It is more on the lines of 7 Race Course Road (now renamed), 10 Janpath, 10 Downing Street, and such like. These addresses or names speak for their occupants.

Former chief ministers of Odisha including Hemananda Biswal and JB Patnaik, operated from a single-storeyed building near Bhubaneswar Club on a road connecting Capital Hospital with AG Square. After JB Patnaik was re-elected in 1995, the Chief Minister's Office was shifted to a two-storeyed building which is the current CM’s Grievance Cell. This structure was also used as the official residence of Giridhar Gamang.

The Patnaik family's original bungalow is in Cuttack, where the three children of Biju Patnaik - Prem, Gita and Naveen - were born. For the last five decades, the bungalow called Anand Bhavan has been managed by a caretaker. The bungalow now functions as a museum.

Biju Patnaik also owns a house on Aurangzeb Road in New Delhi, which remains in the family's possession. That house has all the trappings of an artistic and well-appointed home.

Naveen’s sister Gita has passed away. She was a celebrated author – Gita Mehta – in her lifetime. His brother stays mostly in Delhi.

Though Biju Patnaik named a house after his son, he had never allowed any of his three children or wife into politics. Naveen, in fact, entered politics after the demise of his father in 1997.

The Odisha election saw the curtains coming down on Naveen Patnaik's 24-year rule, with the BJP storming to power by securing 78 seats in the 147-member assembly. The BJD managed 51 seats, while the Congress took 14 seats, and three went to Independent candidates. In the Lok Sabha polls, the BJD suffered a rout with the BJP winning 20 and the Congress emerging victorious in 1 out of 21 seats in the state.

But honestly, hardly anyone among the state observers saw it coming.

Now, as the hunt for a new bungalow for the next CM goes on, the BJP would like to brand it adequately so that it can compete with the prestige of Naveen Niwas. After all, a big man left a legacy to his son, who scripted his own story.