Naveen Patnaik, 72, took oath as the Chief Minister of Odisha for a record fifth time on Wednesday. The Governor of Odisha Ganeshi Lal administered the Oath of Office to the new chief minister at the Exhibition Ground in Bhubaneswar. Eleven Cabinet ministers and nine Ministers of State were also sworn in. It is notable that Naveen Patnaik’s Patnaik’s Biju Janata Dal (BJD) won 112 seats in 147-membered Odisha assembly. The BJD has been in power in Odisha since 2000.
Just after the swearing-in ceremony, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Naveen Patnaik. He assured Patnaik complete cooperation from the centre in Odisha’s progress. PM Modi is also re-elected for a second term after securing a landslide victory in the Lok Sabha elections. In his congratulatory tweet said, “Congratulations to Shri Naveen Patnaik Ji on taking oath as Odisha’s Chief Minister. Best wishes to him and his team in fulfilling the people’s aspirations. I assure complete cooperation from the Centre in working for Odisha’s progress”
Naveen Patnaik had invited PM Modi for the swearing-in ceremony. But he did not attend the function. Earlier this month, PM Modi had praised Naveen Patnaik’s handling of Cyclone Fani after reviewing the damage after the storm that killed over 40 people in the state.
