After ousting Naveen Patnaik-led BJD, which has been in power for 24 years in Odisha, the BJP is expected to form the government in the state on Friday.
According to media reports, the new government is expected to be selected during the BJP Parliamentary Party meeting, scheduled in New Delhi later in the day. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah are likely to attend the meeting.
The BJP had secured 78 seats in the 147-member assembly while the BJD managed to secure only 51.
The saffron party may choose a chief minister from among the new assembly members. One of the frontrunners for the post is Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan although he won from Sambalpur Lok Sabha constituency in the just-concluded Parliamenty polls.
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Other names doing the rounds for the new Odisha chief minister's post include senior MLAs Suresh Pujari, Jayanarayan Mishra, K.V. Singh Deo, Puri MP Sambit Patra, former Union minister Jual Oram and Mohan Majhi.
During the assembly election campaign in the state, Modi had promised that the new Odisha chief minister would be a 'Bhoomiputra'—which was an apparent dig at Naveen Patnaik's close aide V.K. Pandian who hails from Tamil Nadu.
"Odisha's fate is about to change. The government is changing. I have said that the expiry date of the current government of Odisha is June 4," Modi had said in a social media post after the results.
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It is also likely that the saffron party leadership may spring a surprise and announce a name that hasn't been anticipated by the political analysts, according to a senior party leader.
Meanwhile, preparations are underway at Janata Maidan in Bhubaneswar for the oath-taking ceremony of the new government. The event is expected to be attended by Modi, Shah, and chief minister of several BJP-ruled states who campaigned in Odisha.
