Odisha CM Suspense Could End Today As BJP Gears Up To Pick Naveen Patnaik's Successor

After ending the BJD's 24-year rule in Odisha's recent elections, the BJP's Parliamentary Party will convene on Friday to select the new chief minister.

The BJP's Parliamentary Party in New Delhi is likely to choose Odisha's new chief minister on Friday. In the recently concluded elections, the BJP ended the BJD's 24-year rule in Odisha by securing 78 seats out of the 147 in the state Assembly.

Although three of the newly elected BJP members have previously served as ministers in the state, the new chief minister may not necessarily be selected from among them, a senior BJP leader was quoted by news agency PTI.

Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan elected from the Sambalpur Lok Sabha constituency, is among the leading probable for the Chief Minister's chair. Other potential candidates include senior MLAs Suresh Pujari, Jual Oram, and Girish Chandra Murmu. "The Parliamentary Party, the BJP's top decision-making body, will convene in New Delhi on Friday," BJP's Bhubaneswar MP Aparajita Sarangi said, according to PTI.

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The meeting will likely seek input from MPs regarding the selection of Odisha’s new chief minister. A senior leader mentioned that the BJP could make an unexpected choice for the chief minister. This would be similar to the surprising appointments of Mohan Yadav, Bhajan Lal Sharma, and Vishnu Deo Sai in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh, respectively. The BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi during its poll campaigns had promised that the new chief minister would be a 'bhoomiputra' (son of the soil).

The swearing-in ceremony for Naveen Patnaik's successor will take place on June 10.

Preparations are underway for the new government's oath-taking event at the Janata Maidan, a large park in capital Bhubaneswar.

Governor Raghubar Das will oversee the oath ceremony for the new chief minister. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah are likely to attend the ceremony. However, there is no clarity on the size or members of the new Cabinet.