Election 2019 was not a walk in the park for Naveen Patnaik. While he had to ward off stiff competition from the uber-confident Bharatiya Janata Party, the Odisha Chief Minister was also in a tough spot with natural obstacles like the Cyclone Fani that swept through his state.

To put all criticisms and setbacks behind and emerge victorious in the Lok Sabha elections and Assembly elections, conducted simultaneously in Odisha, Patnaik’s Biju Janata Dal has set records as a force to reckon with in the eastern part of the country.

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

Patnaik, who won the state elections with a resounding margin, on Wednesday took oath as the Chief Minister for a fifth consecutive term. A 20-member Council of Ministers also swore-in with Patnaik in the state capital of Bhubaneswar today. The 72-year-old chief minister-designate is one of the longest-serving chief ministers in the country.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended his best wishes to Patnaik through a tweet and assured “complete cooperation” from the Centre in 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,” Modi tweeted.

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

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.

As the process generally is, Odisha Governor Ganeshi Lal had on Sunday invited the BJD president to stake claim to form the next government, following which Lal gave his consent to appoint 11 Cabinet ministers and nine Ministers of State as per Patnaik’s recommendations.

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