Who will be Odisha Chief Minister? All eyes on crucial BJP meeting today

After storming to power in Odisha for the first time by winning 78 of the 147 seats in the recently-concluded assembly elections, the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) is all set to elect its leader on Tuesday. The new Chief Minister will be sworn in on Wednesday, June 12.

Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, the party observers, are headed to Odisha capital for the crucial BJP Legislature Party meeting on June 11.

Historic Win

The BJP’s win in the assembly polls was historic not just because it will be the first time in power in the state but also since it has ended the the five-term reign of the Naveen Patnaik-led BJD in the state by reducing it to just 51 seats.

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The BJP also bagged 20 seats out of 21 Lok Sabha seats in the state. The Lok Sabha and Assembly polls were held in Odisha simultaneously.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and top BJP leaders will attend the swearing-in of the party’s first CM and his ministers sheduled to be held at the Janta Maidan in Bhubaneswar on June 12.

While the oath-taking is just a day away, hectic parleys are underway to decide the next Chief Minister of Odisha. Earlier party leaders from Odisha Dharmendra Pradhan and Jual Oram were said to be frontrunners. But with both of them inducted in the Union cabinet, their candidature stands ruled out.

The frontrunners

So the frontrunners, for now, include, Odisha BJP president Manmohan Samal, who lost the election from Chandabali Assembly seat of Odisha with less than 2000 votes. Samal told media that an Odia will be the CM after being unanimously decided in the presence of the central observers at the Legislature Party meeting on Tuesday.

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Sixty-five-year old Samal has served as a minister in the BJD-BJP alliance government in the state from 2004 to 2008. Before the present term that started in March 2023, Samal was Odisha BJP president from 1999 to 2004

The name of former state BJP chief Suresh Pujari is also doing rounds for the CM’s post. A former Member of Parliament (MP), Pujari was elected from the Brajarajnagar Assembly seat in 2024 assembly polls.

Pujari, 64, is an advocate by profession and has been a Lok Sabha MP from Bargarh too.

Girish Murmu – the CAG?

Another name among frontrunners for the top post is Girish Murmu. A former IAS officer of Gujarat-cadre, Murmu, 65, is a native of Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district. He had served as the principal secretary to Narendra Modi when he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat.

Murmu has been the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India since August 2020. He has also been Lieutenant Governor (L-G) of Jammu and Kashmir.

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Four-time MLA from Keonjhar Mohan Charan Majhi is also being considered for the top job. Majhi is a tribal leader and was chief whip of the BJP legislative party in the previous assembly.

Senior MLA K V Singh Deo, who comes from the erstwhile royal family of Patnagarh, is also one of the Chief Ministerial aspirants. Deo has won the Patnagarh assembly seat six times and has also been a state minister in the past.

Senior BJP leaders like Baijayant ‘Jay’ Panda and Pratap Saragi, who have been elected to the Lok Sabha, are also among the names doing rounds for the CM post.