Basanta Panda elected unopposed as Odisha’s BJP state chief

He is an elected member from the Nuapada constituency in Odisha.

Bhubaneswar

: Basanta Panda has been elected unopposed as the new president of BJP Odisha state unit. He was the only candidate who had filed his nomination papers for the top post during the scheduled time today.

Panda, who represents Nuapada constituency in the Odisha Legislative Assembly, had filed his nominations paper before the party’s returning officer Rajkishore Das.

His nomination papers were signed by as many as ten proposers.

Soon after the scheduled nomination period was over, returning officer Rajkishore Das made a formal announcement, declaring Panda as the new party president.

Panda currently holds the post of BJP Legislature Party leader.

The 53-year-old Panda was first elected to the state Assembly in 2000 and was elected again in 2014.

Known as a firebrand leader, Panda has been a Sangh Parivar member since long. He had taken active participation in Ram Janmabhoomi movement led by BJP patriarch L K Advani.

Although the names of Pratap Sarangi and Bijoy Mohapatra were doing the rounds, Panda’s name was finalized after consultation with senior leaders of the state