A day after being elected as the leader of BJD legislature party by the newly elected MLAs, Odisha chief minister and Biju Janata Dal president Naveen Patnaik on Monday met governor SC Jamir at the governor’s house here to stake claims to form the next government in the state.
“I just met the honourable governor and I submitted to him the letter electing me the leader of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) legislature party. The new council of ministers will be sworn in on May 21,” Patnaik told reporters after the meeting.
Despite the Modi wave across the country, Patnaik led the BJD to a spectacular fourth straight victory in the state assembly and Lok Sabha polls held last month — the party’s best ever performance.
In an assembly of 147, the BJD won 117 seats, while Congress bagged 15 and the BJP got 10 seats.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Samata Kranti Dal got one seat each, while two seats went to Independent candidates.
In the Lok Sabha too, the ruling party bagged 20 out of the total 21 seats. BJP got one while Congress drew a blank for the first time.
In the 2009 elections, the BJD had bagged 103 assembly seats while Congress and the BJP had bagged 27 and six seats respectively. In the Lok Sabha polls, the BJD’s tally was 14, followed by Congress’ six and CPI’s one, with the BJP drawing a blank.
{{/usCountry}}In the 2009 elections, the BJD had bagged 103 assembly seats while Congress and the BJP had bagged 27 and six seats respectively. In the Lok Sabha polls, the BJD’s tally was 14, followed by Congress’ six and CPI’s one, with the BJP drawing a blank.
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