Bhubaneswar: Soon after the BJP secured a landslide victory in the just concluded Assembly and Lok Sabha polls in Odisha, speculations began over the party’s chief ministerial face for the State even as the parliamentary board is to take a final call on it.
A few names are doing the rounds from the BJP State office in Bhubaneswar to the national headquarters in Delhi.
Based on the criteria set by PM Narendra Modi earlier during the poll campaign, the names of some Odia sons are widely speculated.
The BJP parliamentary Board has called all the newly-elected MPs from Odisha to Delhi for a meeting on Friday to discuss the name for the post of chief minister.
The names which are making the rounds on every circle are CAG Girish Chandra Murmu, KV Singh Deo, Dharmendra Pradhan and Manmohan Samal. They could be the potential chief ministerial face of the BJP.
Girish Chandra Murmu
In the race, Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) Girish Chandra Murmu, is seen as the frontrunner for the CM post. Murmu, a son of Mayurbhanj, is considered the most blue-eyed IAS officer of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah. The 1985-batch Gujarat cadre IAS officer, who had earlier held the position of Lt Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, has been recently re-elected as the external auditor of the World Health Organisation (WHO). Born in a Santali family in Betonati of Mayurbhanj, Murmu held several key positions in the Government of Gujarat during the regime of Narendra Modi as CM.
KV Singh Deo
The scion of the erstwhile royal family of Patnagarh in Bolangir district is also seen as the potential face for the new Chief Minister. Singh Deo who has been elected from Patnagarh Assembly constituency, had held different portfolios during the BJP-BJD alliance government. He had also earlier played a pivotal role in chalking out the poll strategies as the BJP State president.
Suresh Pujari
A former BJP president of Odisha unit, Pujari has been elected to the State Assembly from Brajrajnagar. A prominent party figure in western Odisha is also in the probable list of BJP’s CM face. Pujari was elected to Lok Sabha in the last general election from Bargarh. Born in the culturally rich city of Sambalpur, the BJP veteran has held several central key positions as a trusted and dedicated leader.
Dharmendra Pradhan
The union minister for Education and Skill Development is also a top contender for the Cm post in Odisha. Pradhan, having a long association with BJP-backed ABVP and RSS, is said to have crafted the party manifesto with Odia Asmita as its poll theme. Pradhan is also considered as a man behind the BJP’s rise in the State. A post-graduate from Utkal University, Pradhan is involved in active politics since his student’ time. Remaining as a key lieuntant of PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah for over a decade, Pradhan successfully discharged his duties as Cabinet minister as well as party positions at different times.
Manmohan Samal
Currently at the helm of the party in Odisha, Samal is also seen as another claimant for the CM post even though he lost the contest from Chandabali seat to BJD’s Byomakesh Ray. Samal, who was instrumental against the talk of a BJD-BJP pre-poll alliance, played a crucial role in chalking out the action plans for BJP’s thumping victory. Having a long career in politics with the BJP, Samal had also a key minister in the Naveen Patnaik Cabinet during the BJP-BJD coalition government. Samal had been last elected to 13th legislative Assembly from Dhamnagar in 2004 and held the position of Food minister in Naveen Patnaik-led government in 2004.
