Narendra Modi congratulates Naveen Patnaik as BJD chief takes oath as Odisha Chief Minister for 5th consecutive term

Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Biju Janata Dal (BJD) president Naveen Patnaik Wednesday on taking oath as the Chief Minister of Odisha for a fifth consecutive term.

Assuring complete cooperation from the Centre in working for Odisha’s progress, Modi took to Twitter to convey best wishes to the Odisha chief minister.

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_Odisha

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 29, 2019

Patnaik was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor Ganeshi Lal in a grand ceremony at the Idco Exhibition Ground in Bhubaneswar.

The BJD, which won 112 seats in the 147-member Assembly in the recently concluded elections, held simultaneously with the Lok Sabha polls, has been in power in Odisha since 2000.

It is the first time Patnaik has taken oath in an open public ground. In 2000, 2004, 2009 and 2014, he was sworn in at the Raj Bhavan.

Apart from chief minister’s elder brother and businessman Prem Patnaik, sister and noted writer Gita Mehta, around 7,000 dignitaries including leading industrialists and businessmen attended the swearing-in ceremony. A large number of BJD supporters and women grass root leaders also attended the ceremony.

Bhubaneswar: Gita Mehta, prominent Indian writer and sister of Naveen Patnaik also present at the swearing in ceremony of Naveen Patnaik. pic.twitter.com/tk0dx7uBit

— ANI (@ANI) May 29, 2019

Several BJD lawmakers on Tuesday said that they had received phone calls from Naveen Niwas, the residence of Patnaik in Bhubaneswar, informing them that they would be sworn-in as ministers.

Senior leaders, who were ministers in the previous government, are likely to be re-inducted into the council of ministers. This includes Ashok Chandra Panda, Pratap Jena, Sushant Singh, Bikram Keshari Arukh, Prafulla Mallick and Niranjan Pujari.

Sushant, who was Energy Minister in the previous government, confirmed that he received a phone call to take oath as minister on Wednesday. Former ministers Ranendra Pratap Swain and Padmanav Behera are also likely to be in the new team.

Tukuni Sahu, Padmini Dian, Sameer Dash, Naba Kishore Das, Dibyashankar Mishra, Jagannath Saraka, Jyotiprakash Mishra, Raghunandan Das and Tusharkanti Behera are likely to be first-time ministers. Sahu said she received a phone call from Patnaik about her induction in the council of ministers.

Former minister Surya Narayan Patro will be nominated for the Speaker’s post while former minister Pramila Mallick will be appointed as the Government Chief Whip, said sources.

With inputs from PTI