Bhubaneswar, Jan. 14: Basanta Panda MLA of Nuapada constituency of Bharatiya Janata Party was declared elected unopposed president of the State unit here on Thursday.
Mr. Panda has replaced Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo a nominated MLA and would be the president for the next three years.
He was the only candidate who had filed his nomination papers for the top post during the scheduled time today – 9.30 AM to 10.30 AM.
As many as 10 proposers had signed the nomination papers of Mr Panda.
Soon after the scheduled nomination period was over, returning officer Rajkishore Das made a formal announcement with regard to Panda’s election as the new party president.
Panda is also currently holding the post of BJP Legislature Party leader.
The 53-year-old Panda was elected to the state Assembly in 2000. He was elected to the state Assembly in 2014.
Although the names of Pratap Sarangi and Bijoy Mohapatra were doing the rounds, the name of Mr Panda was finalized after consultation with senior leaders of the state.
