Bhubaneswar: The colours of the BJD ruled the stretch from Biju Patnaik airport to Naveen Nivas as party activists welcomed its "Adarsh Mukyamantri" (ideal chief minister) on his return from Pune here on Monday.
Pune's MIT School of Government honoured Naveen with the Adarsh Mukyamantri award on Sunday. This is the second such honour for Naveen in less than a year.
On Monday, the chief minister arrived to a tumultuous reception with colourfully dressed Odissi and Sambalpuri dancers swaying to the sounds of conch shells and drums.
The BJD's show of strength is expected to impart the required momentum to the party's preparations for the next general elections and the Bijepur Assembly bypoll.
The way from the airport to the chief minister's residence was choc-a-bloc with party workers and commoners trying to catch a glimpse of Naveen, who waved at them from a van decorated with visuals of the award ceremony in Pune.
Thanks to the milling crowds that chanted " Naveen Patnaik zindabad" intermittently, it took the procession over an hour to cover the distance that on a normal day would barely take 10 minutes.
Keen to make the most of the occasion, BJD leaders had set up 20 stages along the chief minister's route. Dancers and musicians performed on the stage as the chief minister's convoy moved on. A mobile van fitted with an LED screen displayed the major milestones of the government, highlighting, in particular, its welfare schemes to the accompaniment of the popular song " jhada ra eagle" (eagle in the storm), a tribute to Naveen's legendary father and former chief minister, Biju Patnaik.
In his impromptu address to the crowd at the airport, Naveen expressed his gratitude to the people of the state for the love they have showered on him.
"I am indebted to you for your love. I dedicate this award to the people of Odisha. Let's work together towards making Odisha the number one state," he said almost setting the tone for his party's campaign for the next elections.
Former minister and prominent BJD leader Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak, who was at the airport to receive the chief minister, said: "It is a proud moment for every Odia. The Opposition should desist from politicising this grand achievement of the chief minister."
His party colleague and BJD general secretary, Sanjay Das Burma agreed. "With this the chief minister has taken another major step towards realising his father, Biju Patnaik's dream," he said.
However, BJP national secretary, Suresh Pujari, who has been leading his party's charge against the BJD in west Odisha, described the pomp and ceremony associated with the chief minister's reception as an attempt at "self-glorification" that was bound to boomerang.
"What achievements are they talking about? They have nothing except failures to show," he said.
Former Pradesh Congress Committee president Jaydev Jena echoed similar feelings.
"The ruling party obviously hopes to make political capital out of this 'tamasha'. But they are fooling themselves for the people will see through their game," said Jena.
Traffic hit
Traffic in the city was severely affected by the BJD celebrating its leader Naveen's return to the city.
Though the police had issued a public notification advising commuters to avoid the road connecting Capital Hospital and New Airport Square, the entire area remained jam-packed for a few hours.
Khandagiri Square was the worst hit with commuters left stranded for over an hour.
A specially designed van was the centre of attraction during the celebrations. The green vehicle sported the chief minister's pictures and depicted his achievements.
Naveen sat in the front seat of the van and also stood on the footboard to wave to his supporters.
