Biju Janata Dal (BJD) president Naveen Patnaik was sworn in as Chief Minister of Odisha for the fifth consecutive term in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday.
As many as 20 other members of the new Council of Ministers were also sworn in at the ceremony held at the Exhibition Ground. The Council of Ministers has 10 new faces, including two women.
Mr. Patnaik and his ministerial colleagues were administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor Ganeshi Lal. A large number of dignitaries attended the ceremony.
“It’s a nostalgic and personal journey for me to reminiscence the past 19 years. Today while I take oath of office for the fifth term, I humbly accept the responsibility that comes with the faith my 4.5 crore family members have reposed on me, yet again,” tweeted Mr. Patnaik. He has long been terming people of Odisha as his family members.
It’s a 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.
Mr. Patnaik’s siblings — eminent writer Gita Mehta and industrialist Prem Patnaik — were present on the occasion. Hundreds of women self-help group members from different parts of the State also attended the ceremony.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Mr. Patnaik. In a tweet, he said, “I assure complete cooperation from the Centre in working for Odisha’s progress.”
Those who took oath as Cabinet Ministers were Ranendra Pratap Swain, Bikram Keshari Arukha, Prafulla Mallick, Padmanabha Behera, Pratap Jena, Niranjan Pujari, Arun Kumar Sahoo, Sudam Marandi, Susanta Singh, Naba Kishore Das and Tukuni Sahu. Mr. Marandi, a tribal leader from Mayurbhanj, took the oath in Santhali language.
Those who took oath as Ministers of State were Ashok Chandra Panda, Samir Ranjan Dash, Jyoti Prakash Panigrahi, Dibya Shankar Mishra, Premananda Nayak, Raghunandan Das, Padmini Dian, Tusharkanti Behera and Jagannath Saraka.
Their portfolios were allocated in the afternoon, with Mr. Patnaik keeping Home, General Administration & Public Grievance with himself.