Naveen era ends, all eyes on who BJP picks as new Odisha CM

BJP leaders emphasise an ‘Odia son or a daughter’ will lead the state; meeting to discuss options soon

Naveen Patnaik

With Odisha’s longest serving chief minister Naveen Patnaik tendering his resignation on Wednesday, a day after his party’s stunning defeat in the assembly polls, speculation is rife on who the BJP will pick to succeed him.

Newly elected MLAs started pouring into Bhubaneswar, where a meeting will be held soon to make the pick. But first, the BJP parliamentary board will appoint observers.

“The parliamentary board will take a call on this. An Odia CM, who believes in Odisha’s language and culture, will be sworn in on June 10,” BJP’s state unit president Manmohan Samal told reporters.

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Odia asmita, or pride, was one of the key planks BJP ran its campaign around, frequently targeting Patnaik’s aide VK Pandian for being an “outsider” from Tamil Nadu.

While Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in an election rally at Berhampur on May 6, had said the new CM will be decided on June 6, and will take oath on June 10, BJP sources said the parliamentary board will meet on Thursday or Friday to discuss the issue.

Read | Naveen Patnaik has never sat in the Opposition Benches. Can he do the transition?

There are several names in the fray, and the party could even throw up a surprise – like it did in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan – sources said.

These include Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who enjoys a pan-Odisha appeal and is credited with expanding the party’s base between 2014 and 2019. Pradhan, who entered the electoral fray in Odisha after 15 years and won from Sambalpur, was the centre of attraction during the party’s victory ceremony at its headquarters on Tuesday.

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Son of former Union minister Debendra Pradhan, Dharmendra, 54, has been a key member in the Modi cabinet in the past 10 years and is known to share close ties with Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

“Given his past experience, he can take all camps along,” said a BJP leader.

Active in ABVP politics, Pradhan was also elected to the state assembly from Pallahara in 2000. He left for Delhi on Wednesday morning.

Another name is Girish Murmu, a former IAS officer currently serving as the Comptroller and Auditor General of India. Murmu, a tribal who hails from Mayurbhanj district, had served as the principal secretary to Modi when the latter was the chief minister of Gujarat.

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Sources said Murmu’s vast administrative experience is one of the factors working in his favour.

Names of other senior leaders, including Baijayant Panda, Pratap Sarangi and KV Singh Deo, are also doing the rounds.

While Panda won from Kendrapada, Sarangi, a former Union minister, retained his Balasore seat. Singh Deo, a member of the erstwhile Patana royal family, is a five-time MLA from Patnagarh and served as a minister in BJD-BJP coalition government. Though he lost his seat in 2019, he won it this time.

“There is a process in our party to take such decisions in a transparent manner. An Odia son or a daughter will be the CM, which was committed by the Prime Minister. This will happen,” Panda told reporters.

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There is also a strong buzz that the party will nominate two deputy chief ministers, keeping in mind regional and caste equations.

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