Naveen Patnaik makes young MLA Pranab Prakash Das number two in BJD
Patnaik made the announcement at the party headquarters in Bhubaneswar on the occasion of the 104th birth anniversary of former chief minister Biju Patnaik.
Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik has appointed former energy minister and Jajpur MLA Pranab Prakash Das as organisational secretary signaling a change in 23-year-old Biju Janata Dal’s power structure.
Patnaik made the announcement at the party headquarters in Bhubaneswar on the occasion of the 104th birth anniversary of former chief minister Biju Patnaik. Though BJD had positions for general secretaries and vice-presidents, this is the first time that the regional party has created a post of organisational secretary like the BJP.
Indicating that Das will be the second most powerful person in the party after him, Patnaik said the young leader has worked very hard in the 2014 and 2019 elections besides the by-elections in the State during the period. “He will oversee the overall work of the organisation,” said the chief minister.
Incidentally, Das came to the party in 2009 and has since then risen through the ranks to become a close confidante of the chief minister. He won the assembly polls in 2009, 2014 and 2019.
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