Naveen Patnaik sworn-in as Odisha Chief Minister for fifth consecutive term, PM Modi extends good wishes

The 72-year-old BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik, one of the longest-serving chief ministers, managed to retain the state for the fifth consecutive term in the recently concluded Lok Sabha election in the state.

Naveen Patnaik took oath on Wednesday as the chief minister of Odisha, for the fifth consecutive time. (ANI)

New Delhi: Naveen Patnaik took oath on Wednesday as the chief minister of Odisha, for the fifth consecutive time. Along with him, a 20-member Council of Ministers sworn in today in Bhubaneshwar. Patnaik and team were administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor Ganeshi Lal in a grand ceremony at the Idco Exhibition Ground in the state capital today. The 72-year-old BJD supremo Patnaik, one of the longest-serving chief ministers, managed to retain the state for the fifth consecutive term in the recently concluded Lok Sabha election in the state.

#Visuals Naveen Patnaik takes oath as the Chief Minister of Odisha for a fifth time pic.twitter.com/o82Qkx1xn6

— ANI (@ANI) May 29, 2019

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also extended good wishes to Patnaik on Twitter. He wrote, "Congratulations to 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."

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

Odisha Governor Ganeshi Lal had on Sunday invited Chief Minister and BJD president Patnaik to form the next government in the state. The Governor appointed 11 Cabinet ministers and nine Ministers of State on the recommendation of the chief minister. Besides Patnaik, the Cabinet Ministers who took oath were Ranendra Pratap Swain, Bikram Keshari Arukha, Naba Kishore Das, Pratap Jena, Prafulla Kumar Mallick, Niranjan Pujari, Sudam Marndi, Susanta Singh, Tukuni Sahu, Arun Kumar Sahoo and Padmanav Behera The state ministers included Ashok Chandra Panda, Samir Ranjan Dash, Jyoti Prakash Panigrahi, Dibya Shankar Mishra, Premananda Nayak, Raghunandan Das, Padmini Dian, Tusharkanti Behera and Jagannath Saraka.

Bhubaneswar: Naveen Patnaik takes oath as the Chief Minister of Odisha. This is his 5th consecutive term as the Chief Minister. pic.twitter.com/Wnagx75v76

— ANI (@ANI) May 29, 2019

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 captains of industries attended the swearing-in 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

A large number of BJD supporters and women grass root leaders attended the function. Elections for the 147 seats in the Odisha Legislative Assembly and 21 Lok Sabha seats were held simultaneously in the state. Patnaik won from two Assembly segments, his home turf Hinjili under the Aska Lok Sabha seat in southern Odisha and Bijapur in the Bargarh Lok Sabha seat in western Odisha. BJD retained 12 of the 21 parliamentary seats in the state. The party secured 112 seats in the 147-member Odisha Assembly. BJP won 23 seats and Congress managed to win nine seats. An independent and CPI(M) won one seat each. Patnaik, the son of former chief minister Biju Patnaik formed the BJD after quitting the Janata Dal in 1997. He became the chief minister for the first time in the year 2000 and his party had been in alliance with the BJP till 2009. (With inputs from agencies)