Bhubaneswar: Former chief minister and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) president Naveen Patnaik was on Wednesday elected as the BJD Legislature Party (BJDLP) leader.
As the BJD finished second, next to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the recently held assembly polls in the state, Naveen is now all set to be recognised by the Leader of the Opposition in the Odisha Legislative Assembly.
Naveen ruled Odisha for 24 years and 89 days as chief minister of the state and had never sat in the opposition benches.
Prasanna Acharya, the BJD legislator from Rairakhol, was elected as the BJDLP deputy leader. Senior BJD leader Pramila Mallick has been elected as the BJD chief whip and Pratap Deb as the party’s deputy chief whip.
“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 the BJD legislature party,” said Patnaik.
