Odisha is likely to get a new chief ministerial face as soon as today (Tuesday) as the BJP, which won a landslide victory in the state assembly elections, will hold its first meeting with the newly elected MLAs under the chairmanship of Union Ministers Rajnath Singh and Bhupendra Singh Yadav to pick a leader for the post.
The oath-taking ceremony in Odisha will be held on June 12 alongside Andhra Pradesh where Telegu Desam Party Chief Chandrababu Naidu will be sworn in as the chief minister.
The state is all decked up for the ceremony with Prime Minister Narendra Modi set to attend the event. Odisha’s outgoing chief minister Naveen Patnaik has also been invited for the swearing-in ceremony.
According to Times of India, the CM-designate would first visit the Jagannath temple in Puri. The BJP will reopen all the four gates of the temple, fulfilling its poll promise. The gates have been closed since the pandemic.
Central observer team
The ruling party has assigned Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Environment Minister Bhupendra Singh Yadav to oversee the selection process of the next chief minister of Odisha.
Singh was appointed owing to his extensive role during the state assembly elections, the BJP said in a statement.
BJP won 78 out of 147 seats in the state assembly elections, putting an end to BJD’s 24-year-long rule.
In the Lok Sabha elections too, the BJP made almost a clean sweep in Odisha by winning 20 out of 21 seats.
Who is in fray?
BJP had initially shortlisted a couple of candidates for the job including former Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
According to News18, two leaders – Brajarajnagar MLA Suresh Pujari and state BJP President Manmohan Sonowal – are being considered for the job.
While the possibility of appointing Sonowal seems stronger owing to his role in making BJP win big in the elections, the fact that he did not win the elections can be seen as a drawback.
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In Odisha, BJP has a twin task today: End CM suspense, introduce new face to head CMO
