BJP’s CM Face In Odisha: Dharmendra Pradhan Or Aparajita Sarangi?

With the 2024 election not far away, the chorus to name chief minister aspirant for BJP in Odisha is growing. Also, there is a concern what will be the role of BJP Minister Dharmendra Pradhan come 2024 Odisha election. So far, Pradhan has exhibited indecisiveness where he wants to be — State or the Centre. He has chosen to keep all options open. This is because he knows there is little chance of his dislodging Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in the Odisha 2024 state election. Sources say, Pradhan who is currently a Rajya Sabha member from MP is most likely to file for Lok Sabha seat in Odisha from Dhenkanal or Sambalpur area. Factoring the possibility of BJP faring well in Odisha, Dharmendra is toying with the idea of fielding his wife Mridula in the Assembly election either from Pallahara or Talcher in Odisha, offering him another opportunity for power play in Odisha. Now coming to the question, who will be the CM face of BJP in Odisha in the 2024 election? Two names are doing the rounds – one is that of Pradhan and the other one is Modi’s favourite vocal ex-IAS officer Aparijita Sarangi, a BJP MP from Bhubaneswar. Aparajita remains unstoppable though there was an earlier attempt to restrict her movement to her constituency Bhubaneswar. Today she remains unbridled holding meetings and campaigns beyond her assigned territories covering Bhadrakh, Nilagiri, Kendrapada and others.