Naveen Patnaik is an Indian politician and writer serving as the current and 14th Chief Minister of Odisha representing the Hinjili Assembly constituency since 2000. He is also the 1st president of the Biju Janata Dal since 1997. He is the longest-serving chief minister of Odisha and as of 2023, one of the longest-serving chief ministers of any Indian state, holding the post for over two decades, and only the third Indian chief Minister after Pawan Chamling and Jyoti Basu to win five consecutive terms as Chief Minister of an Indian state. On 22 July 2023, Naveen Patnaik achieved a significant milestone by becoming the second longest-serving Chief Minister in India. He surpassed the record previously held by Jyoti Basu, the former Chief Minister of West Bengal. Patnaik, who has served as the Chief Minister of Odisha five times, assumed office on March 5, 2000. As of 22 July, 2023 he has been in this position for an impressive duration of 23 years and 139 days.  He was also the Union Minister of Steel and Mines from 1998 to 2000 and a member of the Lok Sabha from Aska from 1997 to 2000.

Early Life

Patnaik was born on 16 October 1946 in Cuttack to Biju Patnaik, former Chief Minister of Odisha, and his wife, Gyan Devi . He was educated at the Welham Boys' School in Dehradun, and later The Doon School. At Doon, he was a classmate of Sanjay Gandhi and three years junior to Rajiv Gandhi, who later became prime minister. After school, he went to the Kirori Mal College of Delhi University, and obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree.

Patnaik is a writer and had for the most part of his youth been away from both politics and Odisha, but after his father Biju Patnaik's demise, he entered politics in 1997 and a year later founded the Biju Janata Dal, named after Biju Patnaik, which won the state election with the BJP as its alliance and formed the government in which Patnaik became Chief Minister. His mild mannerism, "Stand against corruption" and "Pro-poor policies" have resulted in the development of a huge support base in Odisha, which has voted him to power in the last five consecutive terms. Like his father, he has managed to control the bureaucracy and transformed it into a machine for the development of the state. His spartan personal lifestyle and detachment from material possessions has been liked by the people of the state. He is also one of the founding members of Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage. His elder sister is the writer Gita Mehta.

Political career

After the death of his father Biju Patnaik, leader of the Janata Dal, he was elected as a member to the 11th Lok Sabha in the by-election from Aska Parliamentary Constituency in Odisha, India. He was a member of the Consultative Committee of Ministry of Steel & Mines, Member of Standing Committee on Commerce, and Member Library Committee of Parliament. In 1997, the Janata Dal split and Naveen Patnaik founded the Biju Janata Dal which in alliance with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance performed well and Naveen Patnaik was selected the Union Minister for Mines in the cabinet of A. B. Vajpayee.

Political Timeline 

2019 - Incumbent    He was sworn in as Odisha’s chief minister for the fifth consecutive term on May 29, 2019.
2014    Patnaik won a huge victory in both the 2014 Indian General Elections and the Legislative Assembly of Odisha elections. And again became the Chief Minister of Odisha on 21 May 2014.
2009    On 21 May 2009, he was elected to head the state government for a third consecutive time.
2004    He was elected as the Chief Minister of the state for the second time on 16 May 2004.
2000    On 5 March 2000, he was elected as the Odisha Chief Minister for the first time.
1998    He was elected to the 12th Lok Sabha from the Aska Parliamentary Constituency.
1997    He became a member of the Consultative Committee of Ministry of Steel & Mines, Member of Standing Committee on Commerce, and Member, Library Committee of Parliament.
1997    Naveen Patnaik was elected to the 11th Lok Sabha from Aska Parliamentary Constituency in the by-elections.

Election Results
 

Year	Office	Constituency	Party		Votes for Naveen	%	Opponent	Party		Votes	%	Result
2000	Member of the Legislative Assembly	Hinjili	Biju Janata Dal		56,243	65.35	Udayanath Nayak	Indian National Congress		29,826	34.65	Won
2004					62,968	72.71	Udayanath Nayak			20,326	23.47	Won
2009					72,942	76.04	Raghabo Parida			11,669	12.17	Won
2014					89,267	73.14	Sibaram Patra			12,681	10.39	Won
2019					94,065	66.32	Pitambar Acharya	Bharatiya Janata Party		33,905	23.91	Won
2019		Bijepur			1,10,604	59.78	Sanat Kumar Gartia			53,482	28.91	Won

Awards