Newly elected Odisha MLAs take oath

A day after Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and 20 ministers were sworn-in, the newly elected legislators Thursday took oath as members of Odisha Legislative Assembly.

The chief minister, who has been elected from Hinjili and Bijepur constituencies, was the first to be sworn in as a member of the 16th Odisha Legislative Assembly.

Pro-tem Speaker Amar Prasad Satpathy administered the oath to Patnaik.

Following Patnaik, Parliamentary Affairs Minister and Bikram Kesari Arukha and other members took oath during the special session.

The Pro-tem speaker administered oath to as many as 106 newly elected members of the Assembly during the day, Assembly sources said.

The swearing-in of new MLAs will continue on Friday as a total of 146 newly elected legislators have to be administered oath. Of the new MLAs, 112 are from BJD, 23 from BJP, nine from Congress, one from CPI-M and an Independent.

While Odisha Assembly has 147 seats, polling in Patkura constituency was postponed twice following the death of a candidate and then due to cyclone Fani.

Patnaik was sworn in as Chief Minister for a record fifth consecutive term at a grand ceremony held at the Idco Exhibition Ground here on Wednesday.