Bhubaneswar: On Friday morning, a massive crowd gathered in front of Naveen Nivas. From party leaders, MLAs, and workers to the general public — people thronged the area, many following him all the way to the airport. Emotions ran high, with tears in the eyes of many who prayed to Lord Jagannath for his speedy recovery. People were seen emotionally expressing, “Naveen Babu, may you recover soon and return to serve the state again.”
The treatment is for cervical arthritis, and a large number of people gathered to wish him well. Party leaders and supporters lined up at Naveen Nivas to offer their support. Even Naveen Patnaik himself was visibly emotional, folding his hands in gratitude as he left for the hospital. Such a scene had never been witnessed before in his political journey.
Just two days ago, Naveen had posted on the social platform X (formerly Twitter), announcing that he would be traveling to Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital in Mumbai for treatment related to cervical arthritis. He mentioned that his personal physician, Dr. Ramakant Panda, would be overseeing the treatment. He expressed that he was going with the blessings of Lord Jagannath and the well-wishes of the people of Odisha. “I will return soon, healthy, to serve you once again,” he had stated.
This announcement drew his supporters straight to Naveen Nivas. As he headed to the airport, the crowd followed, all hoping and praying for his recovery. The atmosphere was deeply emotional. Party women leaders held prayer plates and offered their blessings as a sign of devotion. The MLA from Puri even presented him with a sacred Khandua cloth inscribed with verses from the Gita Govinda, dedicated to Lord Jagannath.
All senior party leaders, MLAs, and workers accompanied him to the airport to bid farewell. Despite his health condition, Naveen displayed utmost humility, acknowledging everyone’s emotional gestures with folded hands before departing for Mumbai.
At the airport, several senior BJD leaders were present, including Debi Prasad Mishra, Pratap Jena, Ranendra Pratap Swain, Nalini Pradhan, Pranab Prakash Das, Snehangini Chhuria, Ashok Chandra Panda, Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak, Byomkesh Ray, Sunil Mohanty, Sudam Marandi, Ananta Narayan Jena, Prafulla Samal, Pranab Balabantaray, and Debi Prasad Tripathy.