Patnaik likely to become LoP in Odisha Assembly

Bhubaneswar: BJD president and former chief minister Naveen Patnaik is likely to become the Leader of Opposition in Odisha Assembly as the regional outfit has scheduled its first legislature party meeting on Wednesday.

This could be Patnaik’s first time as leader of Opposition (LoP) in his political career. Patnaik served as the CM of Odisha five consecutive times from 2000 until June 2024. If Patnaik takes on the role of LoP, the party may elect a deputy leader to handle day-to-day activities in the Assembly, party sources said. In the 147-member Assembly, the BJP has 78 members, followed by the BJD with 51, Congress (14), CPIM 3, and Independents 3. In the last Assembly, the BJD had

113 MLAs.