New Delhi: With senior leaders like Dharmendra Pradhan, Jual Oram and Ashwini Vaishnaw in the Union Council, BJP is likely to nominate its first Chief Minister of Odisha from the elected MLAs.
While names of state veterans like Suresh Pujari and Jaynarayan Mishra are doing the rounds, a dark horse may not be ruled out yet.
The oath taking ceremony, which was earlier scheduled for June 10, has now been shifted to June 12, sources said, adding that the extra time would allow the top leaderships to have one more round of deliberations before making the final announcement.
Pujari, a former Lok Sabha MP from Bargarh, is a national secretary and one of the senior leaders with a large following. He has travelled to Delhi amidst speculations that he may have been chosen for the top job. This time, he won the recent election from Brajrajnagar assembly constituency.
The names of Sambalpur MLA Jayanarayan Mishra and Laxman Bag who defeated former chief minister Naveen Patnaik at Kantabanji are also doing the rounds.
It is unlikely that any of the elected MPs from Odisha will be picked as the Chief Minister as that will leave a vacancy in the Lok Sabha and lead to a by-election at a time when the sympathy factor for the outgoing CM Naveen Patnaik is high.
In the 147-member Odisha assembly, BJP won 78 seats while BJD got 51 and Congress 14. There are also three independents that have extended support to BJP and one left MLA.
The saffron party went to the elections under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi without naming a chief ministerial candidate.
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Published 09 June 2024, 18:26 IST
