BHUBANESWAR, May 29: Naveen Patnaik, who led his Biju Janata Dal to a landslide victory in the Assembly elections, took oath as the chief minister of Odisha for a record fifth consecutive term on Wednesday.
Patnaik was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor Ganeshi Lal at the Idco Exhibition Ground here.
Twenty newly elected BJD MLAs also took oath as ministers, including 11 of Cabinet rank, at the swearing-in ceremony attended by a host of dignitaries.
President Ramnath Kovind spoke to Naveen Patnaik and congratulated him on taking oath as the chief minister.
“The President conveyed his good wishes to him and his entire team for the development of the state @Naveen_Odisha, the President’s Secretariat tweeted.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Patnaik shortly after he took oath.
“Congratulations to Shri Naveen Patnaik Ji on taking oath as Odisha’s Chief Minister. Best wishes to him and his team in fulfilling the peoples aspirations. I assure complete cooperation from the Centre in working for Odisha’s progress,” Modi tweeted.
Soon after taking oath, Patnaik tweeted: “It’s nostalgic and personal journey for me to reminiscence the past 19 years. Today while I take oath of office for the 5th term, I humbly accept the responsibility that comes with the faith my 4.5 crore family members have reposed on me, yet again.”
Union Minister and senior BJP leader Dharmendra Pradhan said he was hopeful the state Government would “proactively support the Centre in uplifting the lives of Odia people.”
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 for the first time that the 72-year-old Patnaik, who won from his home turf Hinjili in Ganjam district and Bijepur in western Odisha, has taken oath in an open public ground. In 2000, 2004, 2009 and 2014, the swearing-in ceremony was held 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 captains of industries, writers, artists, musicians and intellectuals attended the event.
A large number of BJD supporters and women grassroots leaders as also MPs and MLAs attended the function.
The 11 MLAs who took oath as cabinet ministers are Prafulla Mallick, Bikram Keshari Arukh, Niranjan Pujari, Tukuni Sahu, Ranendra Pratap Swain, Arun Sahoo, Sudam Marndi, Pratap Jena, Padmanabh Behera, Sushant Singh and Naba Kishor Das.
The nine ministers of state are Padmini Dian, Ashok Chandra Panda, Sameer Ranjan Dash, Jyoti Prakash Panigrahi, Dibya Shankar Mishra, Premananda Nayak, Raghu-nandan Das, Tusharkanti Behera and Jagannath Saraka.
The new ministry, which includes two women, is a blend of experienced and fresh faces.
The 10 new faces in the Patnaik ministry are Premananda Nayak, Tukuni Sahu, Sameer Ranjan Das, Naba Kishore Das, Padmini Dian, Raghunandan Das, Dibya-shankar Mishra, Jagan-nath Saraka, Jyotiprakash Panigarhi and Tusharkanti Behera. (PTI)
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