BHUBANESWAR: The new Odisha chief minister will take oath at 4:45 pm on Wednesday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to arrive in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday afternoon and attend the mega swearing-in ceremony to be held at Janata Maidan.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which got the majority in the recently held assembly elections by winning 78 of the 147 assembly seats is yet to announce the name of its chief ministerial nominee. Two senior central BJP leaders — Rajnath Singh and Bhupendra Yadav — have been appointed as the party’s observers to facilitate election of leader of the BJP Legislature Party (BJPLP) as the CM candidate.
Though the names of MLAs like Suresh Pujari and, Mohan Majhi, Kanak Vardhan Singhdeo and a few other legislators are doing the rounds, a section of leaders of the party state unit are reportedly batting for Manmohan Samal, the BJP state unit president who is credited for the astounding victory of the party in the recently held assembly elections.
A tight security arrangement has been made for the grand event after the BJP toppled the BJD government in the recently concluded elections in Odisha.
The BJP registered a thumping victory by winning 20 out of 21 Lok Sabha seats and got a clear majority by winning 78 out of 147 Assembly seats in Odisha.
Twin City Police Commissioner, Sanjeeb Panda on Monday informed that the security arrangements have been made and it will be finalised after getting exact programme details of the Prime Minister.
"The venue is guarded and sanitised everyday. All hotels in the city are being checked as well," said Panda.
As per sources, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will arrive in Bhubaneswar at around 2:10 pm on Wednesday and will head straight to Odisha Raj Bhavan. From Raj Bhavan, he will visit the Janata Maidan where the grand event will be held.
Odisha BJP president Manmohan Samal said that the BJP's legislative party meeting will be held on June 11 and the oath-taking ceremony will be held the next day on June 12.
"Chief Ministers of some BJP ruled states and eminent personalities will be attending the oath-taking ceremony. It is a proud moment that BJP's CM will take oath tomorrow. Whatever role was assigned to me, I discharged it by taking everybody together," said Samal when asked whether he was in the race for the CM's post.
