Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday became the president of the BJD for the eighth consecutive time. Greeting four-and-a-half crore Odia people and members of his party, he said, “BJD does not fight elections to win or lose, but fights to win the love of the people and to serve them. As Biju Babu (former CM Biju Patnaik) said, people are the masters in democracy and we are there to serve them.” The BJD has been in power since 2000. Patnaik is currently serving his fifth continuous term as CM. “The CM has truly followed Biju Babu’s philosophy of serving people,” said senior BJD leader A U Singh Deo. BJD MP Prasanna Acharya said the people of Odisha love the Chief Minister and said that the party will continue to remain powerful in Odisha. The organisational polls of the BJD, conducted in different phases, concluded with the declaration after the state council meeting at the party headquarters here on Wednesday. Out of the 355 council members, 80 were elected as state executive members. On February 21, the party had declared the names of 33 organisational district presidents. Patnaik filed his nomination papers for the BJD’s top post on February 23. He was the lone leader to file nomination for the post. The organisational elections are held in the BJD every three years. WITH PTI INPUTS
