Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik stakes claim to form government

Bhubaneswar - BJD President Naveen Patnaik on Monday met Odisha Governor S.C. Jamir here and formally staked claim to form his government in the state, a day after being elected legislature party leader. [caption id=“attachment_1532505” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Naveen PAtnaik flashes the victory sign after winning the Lok Sabha elections. PTI[/caption] “I submitted to him the letter showing I was elected leader of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) legislature party. The new council of ministers will be sworn in May 21 morning,” Patnaik, 67, told reporters after meeting the Governor at Raj Bhavan here. The BJD, led by Patnaik, secured a stunning victory in both the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections held simultaneously last month, winning 117 and 20 seats respectively. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) could win only one of the state’s 21 Lok Sabha seats. In the state assembly polls, the BJP won 10 while the Congress emerged as the main opposition, securing 16 of the total 147 seats. The Communist Party of India-Marxist and the Samata Kranti Dal, a regional party, won an assembly seat each, while Independents captured two. IANS