Naveen Patnaik sworn in as Odisha Chief Minister for a record fifth straight term

Naveen Patnaik, who led the Biju Janata Dal to a sweeping win in the Odisha Assembly election, was sworn in on Wednesday as Chief Minister for a record fifth consecutive term. Governor Ganeshi Lal administered the oath of office and secrecy at the IDCO Exhibition Ground.

The ceremony

For the first time, the 72-year-old was sworn in at an open venue; his earlier ceremonies, in 2000, 2004, 2009 and 2014, all took place at the Raj Bhavan. Around 7,000 guests attended, among them industrialists, journalists, artists and intellectuals, as well as his elder brother Prem Patnaik and his sister, the writer Gita Mehta. Large numbers of BJD supporters, women grassroots leaders, MPs and MLAs were also present.

President Ram Nath Kovind spoke to Patnaik and congratulated him, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi wished him well soon after the oath, promising full cooperation from the Centre for Odisha’s development. Patnaik tweeted that looking back on the past 19 years was an emotional and personal journey, and that he humbly accepted the responsibility placed on him by his 4.5 crore family members. Union Minister and senior BJP leader Dharmendra Pradhan said he hoped the state government would actively support the Centre.

The new ministry

Twenty BJD MLAs took the oath as ministers, 11 of them with cabinet rank. The cabinet ministers are:

• Arun Sahoo, Bikram Keshari Arukh, Naba Kishor Das and Niranjan Pujari
• Padmanabh Behera, Prafulla Mallick, Pratap Jena and Ranendra Pratap Swain
• Sudam Marndi, Sushant Singh and Tukuni Sahu

The nine ministers of state are Ashok Chandra Panda, Dibya Shankar Mishra, Jagannath Saraka, Jyoti Prakash Panigrahi, Padmini Dian, Premananda Nayak, Raghunandan Das, Sameer Ranjan Dash and Tusharkanti Behera.

The team includes two women and ten new faces. Four members belong to Scheduled Tribes and two of the new ministers to Scheduled Castes. At least 13 of the state’s 30 districts, including Angul, Bhadrak, Kandhamal, Sambalpur and Sundargarh, have no minister. Nine members of the previous ministry, two of them women, were dropped, including Usha Devi, Snehangini Churia and Badri Narayan Patra; one of them, S.N. Patro, is expected to become Speaker. Former minister Maheshwar Mohanty lost in Puri, while Bijayshree Routray did not contest.

The results

The BJD, in power since 2000, won 112 seats in the 147-member Assembly in polls held alongside the Lok Sabha election. The BJP won 23, the Congress nine, and an Independent and the CPI(M) one each. Voting in Patkura was postponed twice, first after a candidate died and then because of Cyclone Fani. Patnaik won from both Hinjili in Ganjam district and Bijepur in western Odisha.

See also: state assembly members.

Originally published on 29 May 2019. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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