Naveen Patnaik, Chief Minister of Odisha for 24 years, will now be on the other side of the assembly — as the Leader of the Opposition. The 77-year-old was chosen for the post today by the MLAs of his party.
“We had a meeting of the MLAs of the BJD. I congratulated and thanked them. They have elected me as the Leader of the Opposition and leader of BJD legislature party,” he told reporters.
“I have also announced the new posts for Prasanna Acharya as the Deputy Leader of the BJD in the legislature, Pramila Mallik as the Chief Whip and Pratap Keshari Deb as the Deputy Chief Whip of the BJD,” Mr Patnaik added.
All the new MLAs of the Odisha assembly took oath today. The new Chief Minister, Mohan Charan Majhi, has already allocated portfolios to his council of ministers, keeping home, finance and several other departments to himself.
Deputy Chief Minister KV Singh Deo has been put in charge of agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment and Energy departments.
The former Chief Minister’s party posted its worst performance in over two decades this year, losing majority in the state and failing to open account in parliament.
The BJP won 78 of the 147 assembly seats, the BJD won 51.
What alienated the voters were the local-level instances of corruption that flourished despite the clean image of the Chief Minister.
There were allegations that the local leaders of the BJD sought bribes to ensure provision of government services. Ensconced at his residence post-Covid, the Chief Minister was seen by many as uncaring.
Mr Patnaik’s closest aide, VK Pandiyan, who allegedly had a huge influence on him, quit the party shortly after.
