Biju Janata Dal (BJD) chief and former Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, during a meeting with the newly elected party MLAs on Wednesday, claimed that the state’s poverty rate had significantly decreased from 70 per cent to 10 per cent over his 24-year tenure.
“When I first became the CM, 70 per cent of the people of Odisha were living below the poverty line, which has now been reduced to 10 per cent. Our efforts in the agriculture and irrigation sectors and women’s empowerment have led to this achievement. We have nothing to be ashamed of, ” Patnaik said.
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Earlier on Wednesday, Patnaik submitted his resignation to Governor Raghubar Das after his party’s defeat in the assembly elections.
In the Odisha assembly elections of 2024, announced on Tuesday, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured a decisive victory, winning 78 of the 147 seats. The BJD won 51 seats, Congress secured 14 seats, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) won one seat, and three independent candidates also emerged victorious.
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After meeting with outgoing Odisha Chief Minister and BJD leader Naveen Patnaik, newly elected MLA Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo praised the 24 years of good work by the Naveen Patnaik government, affirming that they will continue to work in the same manner for the betterment of Odisha.
Newly elected MLA Ramakant Bhoi also spoke to ANI after the meeting, stating, “We had discussions about rectifying our shortcomings and mistakes and discussing the future strategy. We have done development work but we should respect the opinion of the public.”
The Biju Janata Dal (BJD), which has governed Odisha since 1997, was defeated by the BJP, ending Naveen Patnaik’s 24-year tenure as Chief Minister. Patnaik had made an unexpected entry into state politics through the BJD, a party named after his father, former Odisha CM Biju Patnaik.
His political career began with a victory in the 1998 Lok Sabha by-election, representing his father’s constituency of Aska. Following the BJD’s success in the 2000 Assembly elections, where they formed a coalition with the BJP and gained a majority, Patnaik resigned from his position in the Union Cabinet to assume the role of Chief Minister.
Since then, he has become the second longest-serving Chief Minister, after Sikkim CM Pawan Kumar Chamling.