Naveen Patnaik Has Grown Old, Should Retire From Active Politics - Ex-Aide And BJP Leader Debasis Nayak

He said the CM has grown old and is not able to run the administration effectively.

Asserting that the 2024 elections will be decisive, Nayak said, “Change is inevitable in Odisha. There was and is respect for Naveen Patnaik. But he (Naveen) should not hand over the trust of the Odia community to another person. If he (Naveen) cannot run or manage, the time has come for him to take retirement.”

Addressing a press conference here, Nayak said Tamil Nadu-born bureaucrat-turned BJD leader VK Pandian is now calling the shots in the BJD and state government and people must understand his design to rule the state.

Describing the CM and his team of strategists are astute actors, the senior BJP leader alleged that Naveen poses himself as a mass leader only during elections but keeps himself away from people once the polls are over.

“Naveen Niwas, the official residence of the CM, are now open as it is election time. These gates will again close after the nominations are over. The CM is good at showing a cultivated face of a mass leader,” said Nayak.

Nayak was Officer-On-Special Duty (OSD) to Naveen Patnaik when he was a Union minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government. Later, he contested elections on a BJD ticket and went on to become a minister in the Naveen Patnaik’s council of ministers.

Nayak predicted that the BJP will win all the 21 Lok Sabha seats and asserted that there will be a double-engine government in Odisha.

Responding to the BJP leader’s statement, BJD spokesperson Tumbanath Panda said, “Debasish said whatever script was given to him. If a BJP ticket is denied to him, he will also not shy away from abusing Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan.”

Panda further said, “Debasis Nayak has not done anything for the people of his constituency Bari and always focused on his own interests. BJD does not need any certificate from him. He should focus on his career.”