Election Results 2019: Naveen Patnaik records his fifth time in office as Odisha chief minister
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, re-elected with a decisive majority in the assembly election, said he was open to "constructive cooperation" from the centre for Odisha's development but that did not mean his support to the BJP was a given.
Mr Patnaik, 72, records his fifth time in office as chief minister, making him of the longest-serving chief ministers of the coastal state.
"I believe in constructive cooperation from the central government for any development and welfare schemes for Odisha. I want to work in cooperation with them for the development of the state," Mr Patnaik told NDTV.
Mr Patnaik was congratulated by PM Modi sooner after his victory in the assembly polls. He too dialed PM Modi and wished the him for the BJP's stunning win in the Lok Sabha election.
The BJP made inroads in Odisha and bagged eight parliamentary eight seats while Mr Patnaik's party won 12.
The Chief Minister, once a part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance between 1998 and 2009, maintained that he was "equidistant" from that party as well as the Congress. Claiming that no party will get a majority in the national election, Mr Patnaik had said that he will support any party or coalition that supports the development of Odisha, especially in the aftermath of the monster cyclone Fani that killed 64 people and left a trail of destruction in the state.
"We always need the support of the centre," Mr Patnaik said.
This is for the first time Mr Patnaik contested the assembly election from two seats- his home turf of Hinjili in southern Odisha and Bijepur in west Odisha. He won the former and is leading in the latter.