One of India’s most successful politicians,

Naveen Patnaik

won a record fifth term as Odisha CM

at a time when regional parties are not faring well. Though BJD ceded ground to BJP in Lok Sabha elections, it did not meet the fate of SP, BSP or Trinamool. In a rare interaction, Patnaik speaks to

Rajeev Deshpande

and

Ashok Pradhan

about politics and why he believes in constructive opposition. Excerpts:

Hearty congratulations on your record win. You are one of those politicians who never sat in the opposition. How do you see this, given that your entry into politics was sudden and unplanned?

How is it that you have never been affected by anti-incumbency?

In your early years in politics, how did you make the switch from being a fairly private person to a public figure?

During the campaign, you were quite confident, and said you had won (assembly) after the third phase. In fact, you invited PM Narendra Modi to your swearing in.

So have you invited Prime Minister Modi to the swearing in of your government?

The polls showed some difference in the voting in

Odisha

for assembly and Lok Sabha. How would you see this?

Ahead of the elections you announced the

Kalia scheme

for farmers. Did you realise that farm distress was becoming an issue that needed to be addressed?

After the election, you faced the challenge of Fani. How did the administration prepare, given that your efforts have been praised?

Death toll was controlled in Fani and Titli cyclones. How can things be made even better?

Odisha has had a stable government under your leadership. Would you have been happier with faster industrial growth?

At that time, the Prime Minister came to the state. What was your interaction like?

It was seen that you kept your distance from efforts to build coalitions against the NDA. And you did not lean to BJP either.

You also avoided personalised attacks.

There was one shift though. You said you could support a government (at the Centre) on the basis of demands relating to Odisha.

Did you feel that there was room for a non-NDA coalition, the way things were being done?

What will be BJD’s role in national politics?

Are voters in a mood to give clear verdicts where ‘kichadi’ coalitions or alliances are not in favour?

You gave one-third of tickets to women in Lok Sahba elections. Will you do the same for the assembly next time?

There was an unusual picture during the campaign of you at the gym. How did that come about?

In the past, it was said BJD bailed out the government in Parliament. You saw benefits in supporting the government?

Earlier, there were two big parties, Congress and BJP. Now, it seems like BJP and regional parties. How do you view it?

Were you surprised by the rapidity of Congress’s decline?

How do you view

Rahul Gandhi

’s leadership?

Politically, do you have a succession plan?

There is some discussion on which of the two assembly seats you will give up and if a member of your family will contest.

You have maintained an interest in arts and reading. What occupies your attention?

Thank you. I am very grateful to the people of our state. They have blessed us time and time again. I am extremely grateful.I think that is because of our development and welfare programmes. For poor people, for women, for tribals.That happened with all the work one had to do. One had to adapt and it happened.We keep our ears close to the ground. We did several surveys. We knew we were ahead and were going to win.I think he will be far too busy with his own swearing in.I think we lost only 1-2% vote share. In six parliamentary constituencies that we lost… we lost by a mere 10,000-20,000 votes. So, it wasn’t such a difference.It certainly needed to be looked at. This Kalia scheme is very good. It is not only for normal farmers, it is for share croppers and landless farmers too.It was seen during your campaign that often, the dais did not have political people. Instead there were farmers and women.It was a conscious strategy to connect with the people. It helped.We immediately evacuated 12 million people in less than 24 hours . We took a number of other steps. And now, we are working hard for reconstruction.We will seek sophisticated equipment to track cyclones. And we will also demand special-category status for our state, which is visited, sadly, time and time again, by cyclones and natural calamities.One would always be happier with faster growth, greater development. But I think we are doing very well. From now on, it will be more or less the same with focus on welfare schemes. We will work to lift people out of poverty.My interaction with the PM has always been cordial and he proved to be very helpful. With the funds he sanctioned.At the time, there was speculation over the political significance, whether this spells possible cooperation in the future.We always believe in constructive cooperation with the central government.That’s been our normal habit.I never do, not my habit to make personal or harsh statements.That is true. We will support a government that helps in Odisha’s development.No. I didn’t take that seriously. I don’t think they were very cohesive. No.We are a regional party and regional parties have regional aspirations. I think regional parties are very important if they fulfil regional aspirations. The federal structure is very important.That may be so. It will have to be looked into.We will try and do that.I have been exercising now for more than a year!Some people tried to make your health an issue.My health has never been an issue.A question that came up during the campaign was whether statements encouraged polarisation.I was very pleased to hear the Prime Minister’s statements day before yesterday. Of reaching out to minorities and wanting to put them in the national mainstream.One should do what is good for the country.So it would not be fair to say that you have been a loyal opposition.No, that is not the case.I think Congress will need to do a lot of introspection.It is a little surprising.I think he tried very hard. But you can see the results.I don’t have a succession plan. The people will choose the next leader.No member of my family will contest. And I haven’t decided on which seat I will (give up).As far as reading is concerned, I like historical and political books and works of art.