After the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) gave a historic overturn to Odisha’s political enviornment by securing 78 seats out of a complete of 147, it uprooted the 24-year-old regime of Naveen Patnaik’s Biju Janta Dal (BJD). Patnaik has submitted his resignation papers to the Odisha governor and has stepped down from the Chief Minister’s submit.
All eyes are actually on the BJP as the general public awaits the announcement of Odisha’s first BJP Chief Minister. Here are the highest 5 contenders within the race:
Jarul Oram
Jual Oram is a seasoned politician with a wealthy background in public service. At 63, Oram stands out as a five-time Member of Parliament (MP) and a one-time Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA). He is among the many earliest members of the BJP in Odisha, hailing from a poor tribal household in Sundargarh.
His important political milestone got here in October 1999, when he was appointed as the primary Union Tribal Affairs Minister below Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Dharmendra Pradhan
Considered a prime contender on account of his administrative expertise, Dharmendra Pradhan is an MP from the sambal seat and has held the place of Union Education Minister. Pradhan held the cost of the BJP’s marketing campaign for Odia satisfaction (Odia Asmita).
He was elected as an MLA in 2000, after which started Pradhan’s political journey. In 2004, he gained a seat within the Lok Sabha, representing Deogarh in Odisha. However, in 2009, he was defeated within the Pallahara meeting seat. Pradhan has additionally served because the election in-charge in Bihar and overseen occasion affairs in Karnataka, (*5*), Jharkhand, and Odisha.
Sambit Patra
Sambit Patra, the BJP’s nationwide spokesperson, has a knack for remaining within the headlines and voicing the occasion’s ideologies boldly. He is the newly elected MP from Puri. Before his political profession, Patra labored as a health care provider at Delhi’s Hindu Rao Hospital.
His entry into politics was marked by his position because the spokesman for the Delhi BJP in 2012, and though he misplaced the municipal council election in Delhi, he gained prominence with the help of then Union Minister Arun Jaitley. Recently, in the course of the 2024 elections marketing campaign, Patra confronted important backlash over a gaffe on Lord Jagannath.
Baijayant Panda
Baijayant Panda, the BJP’s nationwide vp, is one other eminent candidate. Panda’s political profession contains being a one-time Rajya Sabha MP and a two-time Lok Sabha MP from the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) earlier than becoming a member of the BJP six years in the past.
In the 2019 elections, he misplaced the Kendrapara Lok Sabha seat however made a comeback within the 2024 polls, defeating BJD’s Anshuman Mohanty by a big margin.
Girish Chandra Murmu
Girish Chandra Murmu is a retired 1985 batch IAS officer of the Gujarat cadre and is at present serving because the exterior auditor of the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Originating from Betnoti in Mayurbhanj district, Murmu’s profession contains roles reminiscent of Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India and the lieutenant governor of Jammu and Kashmir. He additionally served because the principal secretary in Modi’s Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) and held a number of essential positions within the central authorities.
