Lotus Blooms In Odisha: Who Could Be First BJP CM of State? Buzz Around These 5 Leaders

Bhubaneswar: As the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ousted Naveen Patnaik's Biju Janata Dal (BJD) after its 24 years in power in Odisha, speculations are rife over the next chief minister face in the state. 

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik submitted his resignation to Governor Raghubar Das on Wednesday after a massive defeat in the recently concluded state assembly polls. 

The BJP is now all set to constitute its maiden government in Odisha after winning 78 seats in the 147-member Assembly, ending Patnaik's decade-long stint in the state. 

The BJD performed poorly in the assembly polls as it managed to win 51 seats, while the Congress bagged 14, CPI(M) one and the independents claimed a stake in three seats. Notably, the BJD emerged as the single largest party in the state after the 2019 Assembly polls as the Naveen Patnaik-led party had won 113 seats. 

As the new BJP-led government is set to take charge, take a look at the probable faces in the Chief Minister's race. 

Odisha: Probable CM Faces 

Former Union tribal minister Jual Oram, Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, BJP’s national spokesperson Sambit Patra and party’s national vice-president Baijayant Panda, among others, are in the race for the CM post. 

However, all four probable CM faces have been elected to the 18th Lok Sabha in the recently held general polls. 

Other names that are doing rounds include that of Girish Chandra Murmu, a retired 1985 batch IAS officer of Gujarat cadre, who currently is the external auditor of the World Health Organization (WHO).

Hailing from Betnoti of Mayurbhanj district, Mumru had earlier served as the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India and lieutenant governor of Jammu and Kashmir. Served in several crucial positions in Gujarat CM and at the Centre, speculations are rife that he could be the bureaucrat to head the state where in past some officers drew flak.