Suspense over new Odisha CM continues, state BJP chief says name to be announced soon

By Sukant Mohanty

Bhubaneswar, June 9: As the suspense over the new chief minister Odisha grows with every passing moment, all eyes are now set on the decision of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) parliamentary board which has already held several rounds of discussions with senior leaders of the state in New Delhi.

Odisha state BJP president Manmohan Samal who returned from New Delhi on Saturday evening, told reporters here at the airport that the consultation process was on at national level and the “experienced leaders in the BJP parliamentary board will take the final call.”

“The BJP central leaders are very experienced and they have details on the political scenario in the state. They will choose the right person for the CM post,” said Samal.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and chief ministers of many BJP ruled states will join the swearing-in-ceremony of the new CM to be held on Monday evening at Janata Maidan here. Nearly thirty thousand people are expected to join the swearing-in-ceremony.

While several names for the most coveted post are doing the rounds, the name of state BJP state president Manmohan Samal tops the list. Similarly, the names of newly elected Kendrapara Lok Sabha member Baijayant Panda, Sambalpur LS member Dharmendra Pradhan, Sambalpur MLA Jayanarayan Mishra, Patnagarh MLA Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo, Brajarajnagar MLA Suresh Pujari are also in the pith of discussion.

According to sources in the BJP state unit, a meeting of the newly-elected MLAs of the party will be held on June 10 morning where the central observer will reveal the name of the new CM for Odisha. The name will be officially announced after the consensus in the MLAs’ meeting. Thereafter, as per the announcement made, the new CM will be administered the oath of office at Janata Maidan.

“As the people of Odisha have blessed the BJP, they are going to witness a historic event of swearing-in-ceremony at Janata Maidan.  Even though it is a government programme, from the party point of view we are going to make it more attractive. Thousands of people will see the transition of power,” said BJP leader Dilip Mohanty.

Informing about security arrangements, Odisha DGP, Arun Sarangi said, “We have made elaborate security arrangements for the swearing-in ceremony to be held on June 10. Once the time of the event is fixed, we will make our plan accordingly. We have already deployed adequate forces and officers. The Special Protection Group (SPG), carcade vehicle, bulletproof vehicle and technical vehicle have also arrived. We have the information that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is coming.”

In the recently held assembly elections, the BJP got 78 of the 147 assembly seats, ending the 24 year-rule of the Biju Janata Dal led by outgoing chief minister Naveen Patnaik.