On Wednesday, Biju Janata Dal (BJD) chief Naveen Patnaik keeping his swearing-in ceremony low-key, took oath for the fifth consecutive term as Odisha Chief Minister.
The mirrored absence of the ostentatious celebration at his residence on 23 May, the result of the inline ceremonies of the previous four terms; when his party won 112 seats out of the 146 assembly seats and 12 out of the 21 Lok Sabha seats.
This is the first time, Patnaik took oath at a public exhibition ground away from Raj Bhawan. The chief minister tweeted, “It’s a nostalgic and personal journey for me to reminiscence the past 19 years. Today, while I take the 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 in me, yet again.” It is indicated that the choice of the venue for the ceremony be the sign of his closeness to the people.
The Odisha leader, Patnaik also visited the Jagannath Temple in Puri to seek blessings. The visit is also significant as Puri needs immediate attention of the chief minister as Cyclone Fani, which made landfall in the district on 3 May, had devastated the district. The district is still rebellious to get on its feet. The district is struggling with interrupted electricity and immense telecom services, nearly a month after the cyclone. The need to speed up disbursing the financial help is crucial, as now 189,000 houses have been totally uprooted. Therefore, the financial help to families to rebuild houses ahead of the mid-June monsoon is crucial.
Patnaik introduced 11 cabinet ministers and nine ministers of state. There are 10 new faces in the 22-member council of ministers. Patnaik had changed more than 60% of his sitting MLAs to control anti-incumbency, during the assembly polls in April.
The chief minister Naveen Patnaik has given ministerial berths to two women MLAs Tukuni Sahu and Padmini Dian. Dian is from southern Odisha while Sahu is from western Odisha. These are the two regions where the BJP gave tough competition to the BJD during elections. Dian is a first-time MLA from tribal-dominated Koraput.
