A day after Prime Minister
Narendra Modi bid him farewell,
Odisha chief minister
Naveen Patnaik invited the PM to his oath-taking ceremony.
The four-time CM hopes to lead the Biju Janata Dal back to power in Odisha, and believes he is already through after three phases of polling.
"I politely invite Modi-ji to attend the swearing in ceremony of the
BJD Government," said Patnaik who addressed a series of meetings in Balasore.
On Tuesday, addressing a rally in Kendrapara, Modi had declared Patnaik's loss in the state polls as imminent. Bidding “farewell” to Patnaik, he warned the CM that no one could save him, not even the handful of bureaucrats who, Modi alleged, were running the state.
The simultaneous assembly and general elections in the state will conclude on April 29. Many voters seem to have made up their mind to vote for “Modi at the centre” and for, the still popular, Naveen Patnaik in Odisha, making the 2019 election, unlike any Odisha has seen in a very long time.
Just how this Modi vs Patnaik, presidential style contest ends, who is sworn in and who stands by as witness, will be known on May 23.