G NUAGAON (GANJAM): Four kilometres away from Ganjam’s Bhanjanagar town lies the quiet and beautiful village of G Nuagaon. The air is cooled by the Badanadi, a tributary of south Odisha’s
Rushikulya river. Houses are lined up on either bank of the river, including that belonging to G Nuagaon’s most famous resident —
Biju Patnaik.
The village, located around 180 km from the state capital, has deep ties with both
Biju and his son, chief minister Naveen Patnaik, and this shared history has ensured that it remains strongly supportive of Biju Janata Dal (BJD).
The village falls under the Surada assembly seat and the Aska Lok Sabha constituency, which was won by Biju in 1996 and by Naveen in 1997 after the former chief minister died on April 17 that year. Interestingly, Naveen won the seat on a Janata Dal ticket. The BJD was yet to be thought of.
The village and its Lok Sabha constituency have much significance in the state’s politics and residents are aware of the legacy they have inherited. “Our family members were not interested in joining politics but my brother Naveen was called on to lead the people after the demise of Biju uncle. It was a very difficult time,” said Pramod Patnaik, nephew of the former chief minister. Pramod, like the rest of the Patnaik kin, lives on the
south bank of the Rushikulya.
Naveen formed BJD on December 26, 1997, and won the Aska Lok Sabha seat two more times before taking oath as the chief minister of the state in 2000. Since then, he has won the Hinjili assembly seat — also under the Aska Lok Sabha constituency — for four consecutive times.
The youngsters of the village refer to the legendary leader as ‘Biju Bapa (grandpa Biju). “We all love Biju Bapa and his son for their contribution towards building a modern Odisha,” said Rakesh Kumar Khanduala, a young resident of G Nuagaon.
The Patnaik connect doesn’t mean that everything in the village is in top working order though. The village, which has a population of around 2000, suffers from lack of drinking water. “We need an overhead tank to supply water to nine wards in the village. The small Syntax tank is not sufficient. We also want piped water,” said Rajendra Sahu, former sarpanch of G Nuagaon panchayat.
Sukanta Bisoyee, another youth from the village, said a library inaugurated by Naveen in 2013 was lying unused due to lack of books and people to run it. “We hope the government will look into the matter,” he added. Santosh Kumar Rout, a member of the village club, said they wanted a statue of Biju Patnaik at the entrance of G Nuagaon.
Problems aside, a walk through G Nuagaon is enlightening. The very trees of the village have a Patnaik tale to tell. Showing an old house in their
coconut and mango orchard, Pramod said, “Biju uncle and his father Laxminarayan Pattanaik would stay here. Though uncle settled outside, he would come often. I feel proud that our family has produced two chief ministers.”
When asked about who they wanted to vote for on Thursday, the residents grinned. “Everybody in our area knows who we vote for. We don’t need to spell it out,” they laughed.
