Odisha CM likely to be chosen at BJP meet

Bhubaneswar : The chief minister of Odisha’s maiden government of the BJP is likely to be selected during its Parliamentary Party meeting in New Delhi, leaders of the saffron camp said.

The BJP trounced the BJD, which was ruling the State for 24 years in a row, winning 78 seats in the 147-member Odisha Assembly. Three of these 78 MLAs were ministers in the State earlier but it is not essential that the chief minister would be chosen from among the new Assembly members only, a senior BJP leader said on Thursday.

Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who was elected from Sambalpur Lok Sabha constituency, however, is also one of the front-runners for the chief minister’s job. Besides him, names of senior MLAs Suresh Pujari, Jayanarayan Mishra and K V Singh Deo are also doing the rounds as probable candidates for the chair.

“The Parliamentary Party is the highest decision-making body of the BJP and it will meet in New Delhi,” Bhubaneswar MP Aparajita Sarangi said. The Parliamentary Party is likely to take the opinion of the MPs for the selection of Odisha’s new chief minister.

The BJP leadership might also spring a surprise as it did in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh by announcing chief ministers, whose names had not been anticipated by political experts, a senior leader said.

At an election rally, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the party’s chief minister will be a ‘Bhoomiputra’ and the person will be sworn in on June 10.

Meanwhile, preparations are being made to hold the new government’s oath-taking ceremony at Janata Maidan, a sprawling park in Bhubaneswar.

Governor Raghubar Das will administer the oath of office to the new chief minister. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah are likely to attend the function.