“What’s the secret of Naveen Patnaik’s success?” is the question I’ve been asked innumerable times in the past week, almost always by friends outside Orissa.  The Biju Janata Dal’s sweeping victory in the state — more than two-thirds of all MLA and MP seats on its own, not counting the successes of other friendly parties with whom we had seat-sharing arrangements — is all the more eye-catching in light of the national ‘wave’ being mostly in the other direction.   

The answer is going to disappoint some political pundits, particularly the armchair analyst variety who make predictions based on an esoteric mix of experience and gut-feel.  Many such analysts had said that the BJD was in big trouble after its twelve-year alliance with the BJP ended in March.  But anyone who’d bothered to spend a couple of days travelling around the state would have easily gleaned the public mood, which is why no one from Orissa has asked me that question. 

The fact is that there is no secret formula.  There is, instead, a clean slate, commonsensical approach to politics that would sound rational to the average citizen, but often confounds hardcore politicos.  There are three key components of this new approach.  First, at the core of it, is a remarkable level of sincerity and dedication.  For a man who till the age of 50 spent lots of time in the rarefied social circles of New York, London and the south of France, Naveen Patnaik has not travelled abroad in more than a decade. And he rarely sees his personal home in Delhi either, only visiting the city a few times a year for official engagements.  This monk-like total immersion in Orissa does not go unnoticed by the public.   

... contd.