Naveen Patnaik takes oath as Odisha CM for 5th term

Bhubaneswar, May 29: Biju Janata Dal (BJD) supremo and the Chief Minister-designate Naveen Patnaik took oath as the chief minister of the state for the fifth time in a row today.

A 20-member Council of Ministers also swore-in with Patnaik today. The 72-year-old chief minister-designate is one of the longest-serving chief ministers in the country.

Minutes after taking oath, the Odisha Chief Minister took a trip down memory lane, sharing a montage of his 19 years in office.

Patnaik offered prayers at the Shree Jagannath temple in Puri, a day before taking oath. This is the first time that he took oath outside the Raj Bhavan.

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

Sushant Singh, 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.

Patnaik was chosen as the leader by the newly elected MLAs at a meeting at the party headquarters here.

The BJP won 12 out of the total 21 Lok Sabha seats in Odisha. In the Assembly polls, the ruling party secured 112 Vidhan Sabha constituencies out of the total 146 while the BJP could manage only 23.