Bhubaneswar: Senior leader and former Minister Manmohan Samal was on Thursday made the new president of Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Odisha unit, ahead of the elections due next year.
BJP national president J P Nadda has appointed Samal as Odisha’s party state president today and the saffron party is all set to fight the 2024 elections under his leadership. With his fresh appointment, Samal has become the state BJP president for the third time.
64-year-old Samal, a former Odisha Minister, replaces Samir Mohanty as the state party chief. Though Mohanty’s three-year term as party president came to an end on January 16, this year, he was continuing as the state BJP president.
“BJP national President JP Nadda appointed former state minister Manmohan Samal as party president of Odisha unit. The appointment has been made with immediate effect,” a party statement said.
The saffron party appeared to have chosen Samal for the key post in view of his organisational skills and experience. Apart from being anex-Minister, Samal had also held the post of state unit president when BJP and BJD were in alliance.
Moreover, BJP apparently opted for a leader from the coastal belt as the Leader of Opposition (LoP), Jayanarayan Mishra, happens to be from western Odisha. Samal hails from coastal Bhadrak district.
Samal, who played a crucial role in ensuring BJP win in Dhamnagar bye-election, is seen as a consensus-builder within the saffron party. Party workers see him as a leader who is capable of taking all categories of party people together.
