Modi assures Patnaik of Centre's complete cooperation

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday congratulated Naveen Patnaik, who took oath as Odisha chief minister for a fifth consecutive term, and assured him of the Centre's complete cooperation in the state's progress. Patnaik, the Biju Janata Dal president, took the oath in a grand ceremony in Bhubaneswar.

"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. The BJD, which won 112 seats in the 147-member Assembly in the recently concluded elections, held simultaneously with the Lok Sabha polls, has been in power in Odisha since 2000.