Bhubaneswar, Jun 18: Former Odisha Chief Minister and BJD president Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday shared a heartfelt exchange with newly elected first-time BJP MLA Laxman Bag, who defeated him from Kantabanji constituency in the recently concluded Assembly polls.
After taking oath as the MLA of Hinjili constituency, as Patnaik was making his way through the House, Laxman Bag stood up from his seat to greet the five-time Chief Minister. Responding to the Kantabanji MLA, Patnaik said, "Oh, you defeated me," and congratulated him.
'Ohooo, you defeated me...'#WATCH | "Ohooo, you defeated me," responds former CM and Hinjili MLA #NaveenPatnaik when he meets Kantabanji MLA Laxamn Bag after taking oath as a MLA in the State Assembly today
— Argus News (@ArgusNews_in) June 18, 2024
The BJD supremo lost the Kantabanji Assembly seat to BJP's #LaxmanBag… pic.twitter.com/xoAsxtrlTh
The entire house including Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and his deputies - KV Singh Deo and Pravati Parida - also stood up from their seats to greet Patnaik in the Assembly.
Pro-tem Speaker Ranendra Pratap Swain first administered the oath to Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and other members including Patnaik.
Notably, 48-year-old Bag defeated Patnaik by 16,334 votes in Kantabanji assembly segment. The BJD chief, however, managed to win in the Hinjili assembly seat by a little over 4,600 votes.
The BJP won 78 seats in the recently concluded Assembly polls ending the 24-year BJD rule in Odisha. The BJD won 51 seats, Congress 14, CPI(M) three and Independents three. In the last Assembly, the BJD had 113 MLAs.
Read More: Odisha News