Odisha: BJP appoints MLA Jaynarayan Mishra as new leader of opposition

The BJP on Saturday appointed its four-time MLA Jaynarayan Mishra as the new leader of opposition in the Odisha assembly.

Mishra, the legislator from Sambalpur, was appointed to the post after Bhawanipatna MLA Pradipta Kumar Naik stepped down due to post-COVID health complications.

Mishra's name was supported by all members of the BJP legislative party, the party's state in-charge Vijay Pal Singh Tomar said, addressing a press conference.

Mishra said he will try his level best to meet the aspiration of the people as the new leader of opposition.

''I will also try to expose the state government's whimsical governance style,'' he told reporters.

''I will become the voice of Odisha's people in the assembly,'' he asserted, promising to play the role of constructive opposition leader.

Mishra, a former minister in the BJD-BJP coalition government from 2000 to 2009, was elected to the assembly four times -- 2000, 2004, 2009 and 2019.

Naik, the outgoing leader of opposition, is at present undergoing treatment in Delhi.

''Since state president Samir Mohanty comes from the coastal region, the LOP is appointed from the western parts of the state in order to balance the leadership,'' a BJP leader said.

The BJP is better positioned in the western region than in the coastal or southern Odisha, he added.

BJP MLAs, including Sundergarh lawmaker Kusum Tete, have been expressing concern over the party's functioning in the assembly without a leader of opposition who could be involved in day-to-day affairs. They recently visited Delhi and met party president JP Nadda, urging him to replace Naik.

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