Watch: After Heated Campaign, PM And Naveen Patnaik Greet Each Other At Swearing-In

Bhubaneswar: 

The rare acrimony between former allies BJP and the BJD witnessed during the Lok Sabha and Odisha Assembly elections seemed to have been dialled down on Wednesday when Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former chief minister Naveen Patnaik exchanged pleasantries during Mohan Majhi’s swearing-in ceremony.

A video showed PM Modi and Mr Patnaik – who lost the Odisha chief minister’s chair after 24 years and was invited to Mr Majhi’s oath-taking ceremony – speaking to each other and shaking hands before the Prime Minister moved on and greeted Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, one of the state’s tallest BJP leaders. 

After a reported alliance between the BJP and the BJD fell through, the lead-up to the Lok Sabha and Odisha Assembly elections, which were held simultaneously, saw the two parties launching strong attacks at each other. PM Modi and Mr Patnaik also took jibes at each other, which was a rarity because the leaders were known to share a good relationship and the BJD had supported the BJP on several occasions in Parliament, including in passing key bills.