Bhubaneswar: After being re-elected as the president of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) for the seventh time in a row, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday pledged to further strengthen the party in Odisha.
“It is due to the blessings of the people of my state and the wholehearted support of my party men that I have been discharging my duties sincerely as the president of the BJD. Your unstinting love and affection has given me enough strength to further strengthen my party in the coming days,” Patnaik said soon after being re-elected as the party supremo.
He said the BJD had not only emerged as one of the strongest regional parties in the country, but had also made its presence felt in national politics.
“The prime objective of the BJD is to see Odisha as a self-esteemed and prosperous state. It is due to our relentless fight against the historical negligence by the Centre towards the state that the people have reposed their faith in the BJD. Above all, the developmental programmes undertaken by our government have won the hearts of the people of all sections starting from farmers to labourers, women, students, youths, tribals and the dalits,” Patnaik pointed out.
Stating that the state is going to celebrate the birth centenary of the legendary leader Biju Patnaik and the 80th foundation day of Odisha this year, he sought the cooperation of the people to make the two events a grand success.
“Besides, to commemorate the state’s centenary celebrations, we have come up with Vision Odisha-2036 for which we will try to give our best efforts for successful implementation of the programme,” the chief minister said.