Bhubaneswar: Senior BJP leader Samir Mohanty was Thursday elected unopposed as the president of the party’s Odisha unit, after he emerged as the consensus candidate.
Mohanty’s name as the Odisha BJP chief was announced by Union Minister and BJP’s central observer for organisational polls, Narendra Singh Tomar.
“I am happy the Odisha BJP showed unanimity in choosing Samir Mohanty. He will take charge as the BJP’s Odisha unit president Friday,” Tomar told reporters.
Mohanty, the state vice-president of the BJP since 2016, was the only candidate to file nomination for the highest party post in the state.
Nearly after 14 years, a leader from coastal Odisha will head the saffron party in the state. The post was under the control of western Odisha leaders like KV Singh Deo, Jual Oram, Suresh Pujari and Bimbdhar Kuanr in previous years.
The party has picked Mohanty, who is from Bhubaneswar, for the post to checkmate Bhubaneswar MP Aparajita Sarangi, who is said to have strong links at the Centre and opponent of a group loyal to a Union Minister, sources claimed.
The 61-year-old BJP leader’s name was unanimously accepted at a meeting attended by the party’s district unit presidents, MLAs, MPs and council members.
Senior party leaders, including Narendra Singh Tomar, Dharmendra Pradhan and Arun Singh, were also in attendance.
The post had fallen vacant after completion of Basanta Panda’s tenure. Panda was elected to Lok Sabha from Kalahandi in the 2019 general elections.
Mohanty, also spokesperson of the party in Odisha and an active trade union leader, hails from the coastal region of the state. The post of BJP president was held by leaders from western districts since 2004.
