Naveen, Dharmendra & Two More Odias In ‘Most Powerful Indians 2019’ List

Did you that Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s favourite show is Designated Survivor on Netflix? It’s a trivia revealed by the Indian Express, which has named the Odisha CM in its list of 100 most powerful Indians.

Naveen ranks 39 in the list, a drop in nine places since 2018. Why? The BJD president edged past the 20 years of anti-incumbency and BJP might to return to power in Odisha for the fifth consecutive term.

The 72-year-old has been lauded for successfully organising World Cup Hockey in Bhubaneswar in 2018 and effective evacuation ahead of cyclonic storm Fani.

After the Sports Capital of India tag, Naveen, it said, is working in tandem with the Centre to transform Odisha into the country’s steel hub.

And Union Steel Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, the face of BJP in Odisha, seems to have his back on this. He too has found a place in the IE100 list and for him it is a jump from the 32nd rank in 2018 to the 14th in 2019. The reason: Dharmendra continues to hold the powerful Petroleum and Natural Gas portfolio in Modi 2.0. This apart, his daal-salt-rice package in the PDS in Odisha, the report said, helped the BJP emerge as a formidable opposition in the state. He is eyeing a big win in Odisha in the next election.

The list has two more Odias – Principal Secretary (PMO) P K Mishra and Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das.

A key aide of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mishra climbed up the list from 44 in 2018 to 19 in 2019 after his elevation as Principal Secretary to the PM (Cabinet rank) following Nripendra Misra’s departure, the report said.

Das is a new entrant to the list. He took over as RBI Governor in December 2018 and since then has mended its strained relationship with the Finance Ministry. Recently, the RBI transferred a record Rs 1.76 lakh crore reserves to the government, the report added while substantiating his position in the list.

The IE100 list has ranked the two political stalwarts of present-day India Modi and Amit Shah as number 1 and number 2 respectively. The BJP-RSS constellation dominates the top slots with only Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi and Reliance Industries Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani being featured in the first 10 most powerful persons in India.

The list has only two opposition names in the top 20 – Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and interim Congress president Sonia Gandhi.