Who will be first BJP CM in Odisha?

Bhubaneswar: As Odisha bids adieu to the 24-year reign of BJD leader Naveen Patnaik, all eyes are now on who will be the next chief minister of the state.

The BJP is set to form the next government in the state. It has won 78 seats in the 147-member assembly. Although the BJP campaigned without a specific chief ministerial face, several names are in contention.

 However, Odisha BJP President, Manmohan Samal, said that the party’s Parliamentary Board would soon decide regarding the state’s chief minister.

Samal also reiterated the BJP’s poll promise that only an Odia would be made the chief minister of Odisha.

“The Parliamentary Board will decide soon and an Odia will take oath as the chief minister on June 10 as announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It will take one or two more days to decide,” said Samal.

During the poll campaign, PM Modi had assured that a son of the soil, who could understand and speak Odia language, would be chosen by the BJP to helm the affairs of the state.

The names of several senior leaders like Dharmendra Pradhan, Pratap Chandra Sarangi and Baijayant Panda are doing the rounds for the top post.

The BJP had ruled the state as an alliance partner of the BJD in 2000 and 2004 and this is the first time that the party will form the government on its own in Odisha.