BJP Appoints Rajnath Singh, Bhupendra Yadav To Elect Next Odisha CM

The BJP on Sunday appointed senior party leaders Rajnath Singh and Bhupender Yadav as its central observers to oversee the election of the leader of its MLAs in the Odisha assembly, who will take oath as the state's next chief minister.

The party said in a statement that its parliamentary board picked Singh and Yadav, who was actively involved in the state assembly polls, for overseeing the meeting.

The MLAs are likely to meet on Monday.

Ending the Biju Janata Dal's over 24 years rule under outgoing Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, the BJP won 78 seats in the 147-member assembly, scoring a majority for the first time in the state. It also made almost a clean sweep of the Lok Sabha seats, winning 20 of 21 constituencies.