Pinaki Misra named BJD parliamentary party leader

BHUBANESWAR: The Biju Janata Dal has appointed four-time MP Pinaki Misra as its parliamentary party leader. Misra, a confidant of CM Naveen Patnaik, won the Puri LS seat for the straight third time, defeating BJP’s Sambit Patra.

Expressing his gratitude to Patnaik, Misra tweeted: “I shall make every earnest endeavour to repay the faith in full measure for Odisha’s benefit. We shall all work as a cohesive team.”

The BJD won 13 of the state’s 21 Lok Sabha seats. A Supreme Court advocate, Misra has strong connections across party lines and willl steer the BJD which has adopted an “equidistant” policy in Delhi but has BJP as its principal rival in the state. Six-time MP Bhartruhari Mahtab is expected to be nominated to a parliamentary standing committee.