Patnaik said the papacy of Pope Francis was exemplified by compassion and promotion of interfaith dialogue.
Leader of the Opposition in Odisha Assembly and Biju Janata Dal supremo Naveen Patnaik, on Saturday was elected unopposed to the post of BJD president for the ninth term in a row at the party headquarters here.
Leader of Opposition in Odisha State Legislative Assembly, Naveen Patnaik, filed nomination for the post of Biju Janata Dal (BJD) national president for the ninth consecutive term at Sankha Bhawan in Bhubaneswar on Thursday.
Former Odisha Chief Minister and BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday came out in strong defence of his former aide VK Pandian, saying that he should not be criticised or blamed for anything related to the Biju Janata Dal (BJD).
Coming out in defence of his former aid, the BJD leader said he shouldn't be criticised or blamed for anything.
Naidu's TDP swept the just concluded Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections 2024, winning 135 of the 175 seats.
Commenting on the electoral defeat, Patnaik said: “In democracy, you either win or lose, so having been defeated after a long time, we must take the verdict of the people gracefully."
The IAS officers R Balakrishnan and Suresh Chandra Mahapatra, who enjoyed unbridled power in important posts in the Naveen Patnaik government resigned after BJD lost the polls.
Patnaik claimed that his government reduced the poverty in the state from 70 per cent to 10 per cent.
BJD, the party which he headed, lost to the BJP in both the Assembly and Lok Sabha polls. Patnaik, who never eyed on pan-India expansion of the party, failed to check the BJP’s electoral juggernaut.
