The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has announced plans to invite former Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to the swearing-in ceremony of the new Chief Minister, scheduled for Wednesday, July 12. This invitation marks a significant gesture following the BJP’s victory over the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), ending Naveen Patnaik’s 24-year tenure.
Vijaypal Singh Tomar, BJP national observer for Odisha, confirmed that state unit chief Manmohan Samal will personally extend the invitation to Naveen Patnaik. The event will also be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The new Chief Minister will be elected on Tuesday in a meeting chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. Several candidates are considered frontrunners for the position, including Manmohan Samal, former state BJP president and newly elected MLA from Patnagarh KV Singh Deo, and tribal leader Mohan Majhi, elected from the Keonjhar seat. Although Sambalpur MP Dharmendra Pradhan’s name was mentioned, he was sworn in as Union Minister on Sunday, June 9.
Once the Chief Minister is chosen, BJP MLAs will meet Governor Raghubar Das to formally stake their claim to form the government, Vijaypal Singh Tomar added.
In the recent Odisha Assembly election, the BJP secured 78 out of 147 seats, while the BJD won 51 seats. The Congress party garnered 14 seats, the CPM won one seat, and three MLAs are independents. This result marked a significant decrease for the BJD, whose tally dropped by 62 seats from the previous election.
Following the electoral defeat, BJD leader and close aide of Naveen Patnaik, VK Pandian, along with former MP Achyuta Samanta, announced their retirement from active politics, attributing their decision to the party’s poor performance in the polls.
