Industrialists like to attend Naveen swearing-in on May 29

Bhubaneswar: Several industrialists are likely to attend the swearing-in of Naveen Patnaik as Odisha chief minister for a record fifth time after the BJD president invited them to the ceremony to be held at the Idco exhibition ground on Wednesday. His elder sister Gita Mehta is likely to attend the ceremony.
Though Naveen’s office is tight-lipped about the list of invitees, sources said industry captains having business establishments in Odisha will attend the event which is going to be held in the open for the first time.
Earlier, the swearing-in were held inside the Raj Bhavan, but this time the Idco ground was chosen to accommodate the large number of guests who are expected to attend. Thousands of women self-help group members, a loyal vote bank of Naveen, would be present at his oath-taking ceremony.
Sources said Prime Minister-elect Narendra Modi has not been invited for the swearing-in yet. This despite Naveen, during an election rally at Basta, under Balasore Lok Sabha constituency, had quipped he would invite Modi to attend his oath-taking ceremony. He was responding to Modi’s attack on the Odisha chief minister, during which he said he would visit the state after the Naveen government has been dislodged from power. Naveen and Modi, though, had congratulated each other on the day the election results were announced.
Reminded about Naveen’s comment, a senior BJD leader said no follow up has been done with the Prime Minister’s Office. “Moreover, Modi most likely will be busy with other political developments ahead of his own swearing-in a day later,” the leader said.
The move to invite industry leaders is aimed at expediting the industrialization process in the state. The process gained momentum with the Make in Odisha conclaves and other business summits held during Naveen’s last term.
In the last edition of Make in Odisha, the BJD government had got investment intent of more than Rs 4.2 lakh crore. Now the task is to get them concretised and ensure more jobs for the youths. The BJD, in its election manifesto, had promised 75% quota in jobs for local youths in upcoming and existing industries.
Along with Naveen, a 21-member council of ministers would be taking oath. On Sunday, Naveen met governor Ganeshi Lal at Raj Bhavan to stake claim to form the next government in Odisha.
This came moments Naveen was unanimously elected the leader of the BJD legislature party at a meeting of newly elected MLAs here at the party headquarters. The regional party has won 112 of the 146 seats where election was held. During the meeting, senior BJD leader Bikram Keshari Arukh proposed Naveen’s name as leader of the legislature party. It was seconded by nine women legislators.
Welcoming the newly elected MLAs, the BJD president said, “People often ask me about the reason behind BJD’s continuous success? I always tell them two things — keep people in mind and work for them. Politics is not complicated when we keep people and their welfare in front.”
Urging the MLAs to work hard to take Odisha forward, Naveen asked them to list at least three major issues/problems in each of their constituencies and submit them to his office.
EoM