Odisha Chief Minister's Name to be Announced Shortly, BJP Legislature Party Meet Ends

Odisha will soon get a new chief minister after the BJP selects its leader for the top job on Tuesday. The legislature party meeting, which is being held a week after the announcement of the assembly poll results, ended in Bhubaneswar. The BJP got a majority in the 147-member House by winning 78 seats.

The state will get a new chief minister after the 24-year rule of the BJD’s Naveen Patnaik. Union ministers Rajnath Singh and Bhupender Yadav are in Bhubaneswar to attend the legislature party meeting as observers.

As Sambalpur MP Dharmendra Pradhan became a minister in the third Narendra Modi-led Union Cabinet, the focus is now on Suresh Pujari, who was elected from Brajarajnagar assembly seat, and BJP’s Odisha unit president Manmohan Samal, a party leader said.

Even though Samal was defeated in the assembly polls in the Chandbali seat by a margin of 1,916 votes, his name was being considered for the CM’s post as he contributed immensely to the party’s victory. Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) and ex-Lieutenant Governor of J&K Girish Murmu, who served as Modi’s former principal secretary when he was the Gujarat CM, is also among the names doing the rounds.

Several party leaders anticipated that the BJP leadership might make “a surprise announcement, as seen in previous instances in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh”. “Everything is possible in Odisha as the BJP is a worker-driven party,” said a senior party leader.

Party sources said whoever is selected for the CM’s post in the legislature party meeting will first visit the Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri before taking oath on Wednesday. The swearing-in ceremony is likely to be held on June 12 at 5 pm.

Modi is expected to arrive in Bhubaneswar at 2.30 pm on Wednesday and proceed to Raj Bhavan from the airport, said party sources. He will reach Janata Maidan later to attend the oath-taking ceremony.

Tight security arrangements have been made in the proposed venue for the swearing-in ceremony. Several dignitaries, including union ministers and chief ministers of BJP-ruled states, are expected to attend the oath-taking ceremony of the new Odisha CM and other ministers.

(With PTI inputs)