Naveen Patnaik not to attend Modi swearing-in
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik will not attend the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi on May 30, officials said.
The newly elected members of the 16th Vidhan Sabha (Assembly) will take oath on May 30. As leader of the House, the Chief Minister will be present during the occasion. So, Mr. Patnaik will not be able to visit Delhi on May 30 to attend the swearing-in ceremony of the Prime Minister and his Council of Ministers, an official communication issued by the Chief Minister’s Office said on May 29.
“The Chief Minister has conveyed his good wishes to the Prime Minister and his Council of Ninisters,” it added.
Mr. Patnaik, who is also the president of the ruling BJD, took oath of office as the Chief Minister of Odisha for the fifth time in a row on May 29. His party has been elected to power with massive majority of 112 seats in the 147-member Odisha Assembly.
Though Mr. Patnaik’s swearing-in was attended by many Congress leaders, former Odisha Chief Minister Giridhar Gamang was the lone BJP leader seen at the function.
The State government had invited Mr Modi, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and all the newly elected BJP MLAs and MPs of the State to the ceremony, officials said.
Rahul, Sonia to attend swearing-in
Congress President Rahul Gandhi and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi will attend the swearing-in of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday evening at Rashtrapati Bhavan, party sources said.
The two Congress leaders are among those invited by the Prime Minister to the ceremony.
They have accepted the invite, they said.
Nitish meets Shah ahead of Modi govt’s inauguration
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday met BJP president Amit Shah, and both leaders are understood to have discussed Mr. Kumar’s party JD(U)’s representation in the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will be sworn in for a second term on Thursday.
The JD(U) president also held a meeting of his party’s office-bearers.
JD(U) leaders are of the view that the Bihar party may get two berths, one with Cabinet rank and another with Minister of State.
However, there has been no official word on the JD(U)’s likely representation in the government.
Another BJP ally from Bihar, Lok Janshakti Party, is likely to be represented by its president Ram Vilas Paswan in the government.
The LJP had on Tuesday passed a resolution, naming him as its representative in the government.
Chance for AIADMK getting berth in Modi Cabinet: TN Minister
Though there are no pointers on the contours of the NDA-II Cabinet, there is a chance of the AIADMK getting a berth in the council of ministers, Tamil Nadu Information and Publicity Minister Kadambur C Raju said in Chennai on Wednesday.
BJP sources here meanwhile, said the names of Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam’s son P Raveendranath Kumar and Rajya Sabha member R Vaithilingam find place in the “list of probables.”
Mr. Raju, answering a question from reporters said: “There is a chance for it (AIADMK getting a berth in the Cabinet) since they (BJP) had said coalition partners will be accommodated (in the Council of Ministers).”
In the event of AIADMK getting a berth, Chief Minister K Palaniswami and Panneerselvam will take a decision on its representative after talking with BJP leaders when they go to Delhi, the Minister said.
He said there were, however, no indications on the broad contours of the NDA-II Cabinet.
While Mr. Kumar was the lone AIADMK-NDA victor from Tamil Nadu winning from Theni in the Lok Sabha elections, Mr. Vaithilingam was the Housing Minister during late J Jayalalithaa’s tenure during 2011-16 and a party strongman from Thanjavur District.
The AIADMK has 13 members, including Vaithilingam, in the Rajya Sabha.
BJP sources told PTI that it has been conveyed to the party’s top brass that cadres wished to see at least “one BJP leader from Tamil Nadu,” in the Union Cabinet.
“Nothing is in our hands. It is the Prime Minister who decides on who will be in the Cabinet,” a senior state BJP leader said.
Notwithstanding the number of seats the party won in the Lok Sabha polls, the AIADMK will work to secure the rights of Tamil Nadu people through the Central government, Raju said.
“The BJP today does not need any numbers. They have an absolute majority. We are, however, part of the (NDA) alliance and on that basis we will work to secure the rights of the people through the Centre,” he said.
Mocking the DMK, Mr. Raju said the MK Stalin-led party which “stages walkouts in the State Assembly may reprise it in the Parliament as well and they cannot go beyond that.”
It is the AIADMK which will work for Tamil Nadu people and secure the people’s rights, he added.
On May 22, Mr. Panneerselvam had said AIADMK will take a decision on joining the government at the Centre after declaration of results.
One more Trinamool MLA joins BJP
Trinamool Congress MLA Monirul Islam on May 29 joined the BJP, the third legislator to desert the ruling party in West Bengal after the reverses in the Lok Sabha polls.
Two Trinamool legislators and over 50 councillors had joined the BJP on May 28.
The BJP projected the decision of Trinamool’s Muslim MLA to join the party as a vindication of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s slogan of “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwash” (together with all, development for all, trust of all).
Mr. Modi gave the slogan in his first address to MP’s of BJP-led NDA after the Lok Sabha poll results were declared. He had asked them to win over the trust of minorities with their work.
Several other Trinamool workers also joined the saffron party in New Delhi in the presence of BJP leaders Mukul Roy and Kailash Vijaywargiya.
Chandrababu Naidu elected TDLP leader
The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MLAs on May 29 unanimously elected N. Chandrababu Naidu as their leader in the Assembly. This puts an end to speculation that the TDP supremo may not prefer to lead the Opposition in the Assembly.
TDP president and former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu chairs a meeting of Telugu Desam MLAs in Amaravati on May 29, 2019. Photo: Twitter/@JaiTDP
There was speculation in the party circles that former Minister K. Atchannaidu or senior party leader Payyavula Keshav may be considered for the post of Telugu Desam Legislature Party leader.
Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee has passed a resolution requesting Rahul Gandhi to continue as Congress president.
The resolution also stated the State Congress Committee accepts collective responsibility for the party's defeat in Lok Sabha elections in Rajasthan.
In its resolution, the Rajasthan PCC has reposed faith in Mr. Gandhi's leadership and authorised him to revamp the State unit, if needed.
"There will be no change in the State leadership of the party," AICC general secretary Avinash Pande said.
The resolution comes a day after Mr. Gandhi separately met Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot.
Mamata not to attend Modi's swearing-in ceremony
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said she won't attend the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"The oath-taking ceremony is an august occasion to celebrate democracy, not one that should be devalued by any political party," Ms. Banerjee wrote on her Twitter page sharing the letter she wrote to Mr. Modi.
The development follows the announcement of the West Bengal unit of the BJP that the families of BJP workers allegedly killed in political violence in the State would be taking part in the event.
BJP national president Amit Shah has resigned from the Rajya Sabha.
Mr. Shah was elected to the Upper House from Gujarat. He won the Lok Sabha election from Gandhinagar.
Pema Khandu sworn in as Arunachal Pradesh CM
Senior BJP leader Pema Khandu took oath as the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh.
Governor Brig (Retd) B.D. Mishra administered the oath of office at the Dorjee Khandu Convention Centre. Eleven Ministers, including Chowna Mein, also took the oath of secrecy.
Chief Ministers of Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Tripura and Meghalaya attended the function.
Kin of BJP workers killed in political violence in West Bengal invited for Modi’s swearing-in
The family members of over 40 BJP workers, who were killed in political violence in West Bengal in the last one year, have been invited for the swearing-in of Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister for a second term on Thursday.
The BJP has accused the state’s ruling Trinamool Congress of unleashing violence on its workers in elections, alleging that at least 80 of them have died in political violence. The TMC has denied the charge.
The party has booked their train tickets and informed them personally, BJP leader Mukul Roy said.
“It is a gesture of showing respect to our martyrs who died while working for the party during the violence unleashed by Trinamool Congress (TMC) goons,” he added.
Jaitley writes to Modi opting out of Ministry
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, said he wanted to be out of the new Ministry to “concentrate on treatment and health
The letter was shared on Twitter by Mr. Jaitley.
Naveen Patnaik sworn in as CM of Odisha
Odisha Governor Ganeshi Lal administered the Oath of Office to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik at the Exhibition Ground in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday.
Mr. Patnaik has been sworn in for a record fifth time.
Eleven Cabinet ministers and nine Ministers of State were also sworn in.
The 11 Cabinet ministers are: Ranendra Pratap Swain, Bikram Keshari Arukha, Prafulla Mallick, Niranjan Pujari, Padmanabha Behera, Pratap Jena, Arun Kumar Sahoo, Sudam Marandi, Sushant Singh, Naba Kishore Das, and Tukuni Sahu.
The nine Ministers of State are: Ashok Chandra Panda, Sameer Ranjan Dash, Jyoti Prakash Panigrahi, Dibya Shankar Mishra, Premananda Nayak, Raghunandan Das, Padmini Dian, Tusharkanti Behera and Jagannath Saraka.
Mr. Patnaik's Cabinet includes 10 new faces, of which two are women.
Mr. Patnaik’s siblings — writer Gita Mehta and industrialist Prem Patnaik — were also present at the swearing-in ceremony.
Hundreds of women self-help group members from different parts of the State were invited to attend the ceremony.
Rebuilding coastal Odisha first test for five-time CM
BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik was on Sunday elected as the legislature party leader and will be Odisha Chief Minister for the record fifth term in a row.
Winning five successive elections is no mean feat for any political party or leader, but the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and its president Naveen Patnaik managed to do just that.
Major challenges are awaiting Mr. Patnaik, who was sworn-in as Chief Minister for the fifth consecutive term on Wednesday.
Mr. Patnaik has to rebuild coastal Odisha, which was badly ravaged by Cyclone Fani on May 3, days after completion of the fourth and last phase of polling in the State.
Rahul to oversee transition?
The leadership “crisis” in the Congress may have eased as party president Rahul Gandhi seems set to continue for the next three months to oversee a restructuring exercise before stepping down.
Sources indicate that the party leadership may have persuaded him to stay on until a clear roadmap for its revival has been formulated.
Three West Bengal MLAs, 50 councillors cross over to BJP
The BJP’s “Mission Bengal” gathered pace on Tuesday, with three MLAs from West Bengal joining the party at its headquarters in New Delhi, along with 50 municipal councillors from Kanchrapara, Halishahar and Naihati.
Of the three legislators, Shubhrangshu Roy from Trinamool Congress is former Union Minister Mukul Roy’s son; the other two are Tusharkanti Bhattacharya and Debendra Nath Roy.
Mr. Roy crossed over from the CPI(M) and Mr. Bhattacharya from the Trinamool Congress. The latter, elected on a Congress ticket from Bishnupur, had crossed over to Trinamool two years ago but did not resign his seat after doing so.
