While BJD leaders held a marathon meeting at Naveen Niwas, the residence of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday, the BJP leaders had a similar meeting in the national capital, discussing election matters, including a potential alliance.
KV Singh Deo and Pravati Parida were made deputy chief ministers of the state, he said.
'If the BJP had its way, it would sideline him in favour of someone else. But that's not feasible. There is no vote catcher in Bihar for the BJP.'
A special investigation team (SIT) has been formed in Madhya Pradesh to investigate the deaths of 14 children in Chhindwara, suspected to be linked to a toxic cough syrup. The investigation includes arrests, exhumations, and a ban on the implicated cough syrup.
Bijayant Panda, the suave Biju Janata Dal MP from Kendrapara, said he was "shocked" at the news.
Senior BJP leader and Patnagarh MLA KV Singh Deo and debutant from Nimapara assembly segment Pravati Parida took oath as deputy chief ministers.
Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik launched the second T20 International between India and South Africa by ringing the bell at Barabati Stadium in Cuttack on Sunday.
Condemning violence at a Congress rally in Bhubaneswar, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday said the people of Odisha were shocked over the incident, in which a policewoman sustained injuries after being assaulted and allegedly molested by the mob. "People are shocked over the incident that took place in Bhubaneswar on Thursday. Odisha is known for its peaceful atmosphere," Patnaik said.
'The tide started to turn against the BJD when V K Pandian toured the districts gathering people's grievances last year.'
The incident took place around 4 am when hundreds of devotees gathered near the temple to witness Rath Yatra festivities, Puri district collector Siddharth S Swain said.
According to weather officials, wind speeds along and off the Odisha-West Bengal coasts are anticipated to reach 60 km/h from October 23, increasing to 120 km/h from October 24 night to October 25 morning.
The CM appointed Khurda district collector Chanchal Rana as the new collector of Puri.
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said on Tuesday that Member of Legislative Assembly Jhina Hikaka, who had been asked to quit by Thursday by Maoists, should not do so. Hikaka had been held captive by Maoists for nearly a month. "Any elected people's representative, including Jhina Hikaka, should not resign under pressure from illegal and unconstitutional forces," Patnaik told reporters.
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday sought urgent consultations between the Centre and the states over issues like NCTC saying any delay in this regard would affect handling of law and order problems.
The 78-year-old Naveen is on the cusp of creating history. He must win the forthcoming Assembly polls to become India's longest-serving chief minister, a record held by Sikkim's Pawan Kumar Chamling.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee claims a Bengali-speaking woman and her child were threatened in Delhi after an alleged assault. She urges Bengali migrant workers in BJP-ruled states to return to Bengal if harassed and questions the absence of central commissions in BJP-ruled states when atrocities occur.
Patnaik, won his his home turf Hinjili by over 60,000 votes, while he was leading from Bijepur till early on Friday morning.
Talks on pre-poll alliance were being held between the ruling Biju Janata Dal and the opposition BJP for the past few days.
Power supply was yet to be restored in around 50,000 households in cyclone-hit areas in Kendrapara, Bhadrak and Balasore districts, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has said.
'Often people outside paint a wrong picture of us of Kashmiris. We are not like that. We are cool and bindaas,' said the lady, a teacher, caressing my cheeks in the pressing crowds.
BJD managed to retain 112 seats securing another term for Patnaik in the CM chair.
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said rehabilitation is a big challenge for the state government as property valued at several crore of rupees was lost in the cyclone.
Patnaik has continued his grip over Odisha with his party, the BJD, winning 112 assembly seats in the 147-member House.
Four days after release of Jhina Hikaka from Maoist captivity, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday questioned why the MLA, belonging to his party the Biju Janata Dal, should resign and said he was looking forward to meeting him.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said all families in Puri and in those parts of Khurda, which had been 'extremely severely affected' in the storm, will get 50 kg of rice, Rs 2,000 in cash and polythene sheets, if covered under the Food Security Act (FSA).
Patnaik, 89, passed away at Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences in the temple city
In a bid to suppress dissidence, Biju Janata Dal supremo and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday suspended Jagneswar from the regional outfit on charge of anti-party activities.
Two Italian tourists were abducted in the tribal-dominated Ganjam district of Odisha by Maoists, who demanded an immediate end to anti-Naxal operations and release of some of their jailed colleagues.
However, there was no report of any major damage or casualty so far even as the landfall process started more than an hour ago, the official said.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted above-normal rainfall across India in June, with most parts of the country likely to experience normal to below-normal maximum temperatures. The IMD also anticipates above-normal minimum temperatures across most of the country, except for some parts of central India and the adjoining south peninsula. The southwest monsoon reached Kerala on May 24, marking its earliest arrival over the Indian mainland since 2009. The monsoon is crucial for India's agriculture-dependent economy, providing vital water for crops and supporting drinking water and hydropower generation.
Samal also claimed that the Odisha BJP was confident of winning both the polls.
Rekha Gupta had the support of the RSS, which actively participated in the Delhi assembly poll campaign to help the BJP win.
Noting that heavy deployment of security forces in neighbouring Chhattisgarh was driving Maoists to his state, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday demanded two additional Central Reserve Police Force battalions and a military chopper to "effectively" tackle the extremists.
The death toll from the explosion at the Sigachi Industries' pharma plant in Pashamylaram has risen to 35, police said on Tuesday.
With the curtains drawn on the Italian hostage crisis, a somewhat relieved Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday flew to Maoist-infested Koraput where 37-year-old tribal MLA Jhina Hikaka was being held captive by a separate Maoist group since March 24.
Expressing displeasure over the manner in which the organisers handled the second T20 cricket match between India and South Africa at Cuttack, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has ordered a probe into the incident by the home secretary.
'Modi's charisma may have weakened as last year's Lok Sabha poll results showed but in the eyes of the Sangh Parivar, it has not waned.' 'Minus a strong BJP government at the Centre for another decade and more, there is apprehension that an anti-Hindutva government could reverse many of the ideological gains that the Modi dispensation has achieved through its three terms,' points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Naveen Patnaik, who steered the Biju Janata Dal to a landslide victory in the Odisha assembly elections, was on Wednesday sworn in as chief minister for a fourth consecutive term.
The BJP will hold a legislature party meeting on Wednesday evening to decide the new chief minister of Delhi. The party won the February 5 assembly elections, ending the Aam Aadmi Party's five-year rule. The meeting will be held at the party's Delhi unit office and is expected to begin around 7 pm. The 48 BJP MLAs will choose the Leader of the House in the Delhi Assembly, who will become the chief minister. The meeting will be held in the presence of BJP's central observers, whose names are yet to be declared. The new chief minister, after being chosen by the party MLAs, will meet Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena at the Raj Niwas to stake claim to power. A grand swearing-in ceremony of the new government is scheduled for Thursday afternoon at Ramleela Ground. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other dignitaries are expected to attend the ceremony. The names doing the rounds for the new chief minister include Parvesh Verma, Vijender Gupta, Satish Upadhyay, Pawan Sharma, Ashish Sood, Rekha Gupta, Shikha Rai, Ravinder Indraj Singh, and Kailash Gangwal. Many within the party believe that the BJP leadership could choose a "dark horse" as Delhi's next chief minister.
Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, International Hockey Federation president Tayyab Ikram and Hockey India chairman Dilip Tirkey were present at the glittering ceremony to welcome members of all the 16 participating teams.