Bhubaneswar: The Central BJP leaders are scheduled to meet the 20 newly-elected MPs from Odisha in New Delhi on Friday ending the suspense over who will be the new Chief Minister of the state.
In the recently concluded General Elections, the BJP ended the 24-year rule of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in Odisha by securing 78 seats out of the 147 in the state Assembly and 20 of the 21 parliamentary seats.
Although three of the newly-elected BJP state legislative members have previously served as ministers in the state, the new Chief Minister may not necessarily be selected from among them.
The BJP Parliamentary Board meeting will likely seek input from the party MPs regarding the selection of Odisha’s new Chief Minister. Some political experts are of the view 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 their poll campaigns in Odisha had promised that the new Chief Minister would be a ‘bhoomiputra’.
The swearing-in ceremony for the new Chief Minister will take place on June 10. Preparations are underway for the new government’s oath-taking event at the Janata Maidan in the capital Bhubaneswar.
Odisha Governor Raghubar Das will oversee the oath ceremony for the new Chief Minister. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister for Home Affairs Amit Shah are likely to attend the ceremony. However, there is no clarity on the size or members of the new Cabinet.
