There is speculation as to whether the 78-year-old Naveen Patnaik, still popular, will become the leader of the opposition, or, given his age, the BJD will allow someone else to take the position. (Image: News18)
Senior Biju Janata Dal MLA Prasanna Acharya will be the deputy leader of opposition, Pramila Mallick will be the chief whip, and Pratap Kesari Deb will be the deputy chief whip.
Fifth chief minister Naveen Patnaik will make his debut as the leader of opposition in the Odisha Assembly. Besides, senior Biju Janata Dal MLA Prasanna Acharya will be the deputy leader of the opposition, Pramila Mallick will be the chief whip, and Pratap Kesari Deb will be the deputy chief whip. The decision was taken at a meeting of the Biju Janata Dal legislative party at the BJD headquarters, Shankha Bhavan in Bhubaneswar.
In a media briefing, former Odisha chief minister and Hinjili MLA Naveen Patnaik said, “We have just met the MLAs who have been elected in the recent elections from the Biju Janata Dal. I have congratulated and thanked them. They have elected me as the leader of the opposition and the leader of the BJD legislative party. .I have also announced the new posts of Prassana Acharya as deputy leader of Biju Janata Dal in the legislature, Pramila Mallick as chief whip, and Pratap Kesari Deb as deputy chief whip of Biju Janata Dal.
After the debacle in the recent elections, the BJD has announced the formation of a high-level committee to look into the reasons behind the party’s poor performance in the Lok Sabha as well as the assembly polls. Questions are being raised about who is the person who decides the electoral strategy adopted and what are the results of the numerous surveys conducted by the party. Patnaik said, “We have had a great meeting with the MLAs today, where we have discussed many things, including the recent elections.”
There is speculation as to whether the 78-year-old Naveen Patnaik, still popular, will become the leader of the opposition, or, given his age, the BJD will allow someone else to take the position. However, as expected, the 51-member legislature party voted for Patnaik.
Prasanna Acharya, the deputy leader who was elected on Wednesday, is a veteran politician and an old BJD face. “To my knowledge, for the last several decades, there has been no strong opposition in the Odisha Assembly. This will strengthen democracy. This will ensure that the government stays on track,” he said.
Acharya is a member of Biju Patnaik’s cabinet, the father of Naveen Patnaik, a former Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha member of parliament, and a member of the Odisha legislative council. In 2024, Acharya won from Rairakhol Assembly constituency defeating his nearest rival, Devendra Mohapatra of BJP, by around 5,000 votes. Acharya, 74, has represented western Odisha.
Mallick, who belongs to the Scheduled Caste, is another veteran BJD leader and the first woman speaker of the Odisha legislative assembly, who was elected as the party’s chief whip. He is a seven time MLA and also a former minister. In 2024, she won from the Bhinjharpur constituency, defeating her nearest rival, Babita Mallick of the BJP, by around 2,900 votes. This was Bhinjharpur’s seventh consecutive victory.
The deputy chief whip is Pratap Keshari Deb who is also a BJD veteran and at 52 is the youngest leader among those elected on Wednesday. Apart from being an MLA, he is also a former member of the Rajya Sabha. In 2024, Deb won from the Déwan Aul constituency, defeating her nearest rival Debasmita Shama by 19,000 votes.
The BJD, which has struggled to explain its marked reliance on Tamil Nadu-born former bureaucrat and leader VK Pandian, which led to a drubbing in the polls, marks the return of a veteran leader at the helm. Like Biju Patnaik who has become the leader of the opposition after capturing the chief ministership, his son Naveen Patnaik will now do the same.
