Odisha, Andhra prepare for swearing in of CMs; PM Modi to attend both events

Preparations are in full swing for the swearing in of N Chandrababu Naidu and Mohan Charan Majhi as the chief ministers of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha respectively.

Both the events will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi who will travel to Odisha for the evening oath-taking ceremony of Majhi on Wednesday (June 12) soon after Naidu is sworn in as the chief minister of Andhra in a morning ceremony.

Naidu, the chief of Telugu Desam Party (TDP), will take oath at 11.27 am on Wednesday near Medha IT Park on the outskirts of Vijaywada. 

Along with Naidu, Janasena chief Pawan Kalyan, the TDP supremo's son Nara Lokesh and 22 others are also expected to take the oath.

Janasena offered 3 cabinet berths, BJP 1

NDA sources told PTI that Kalyan has been offered the deputy chief minister's post. Janasena is being offered three cabinet berths and the BJP one. The rest of the berths will be filled by TDP MLAs.

In the 175-member Andhra Pradesh Assembly, the cabinet can have 26 ministers, including the chief minister.

Naidu sent the list of ministers to Governor S Abdul Nazeer.

Naidu-led TDP unseated the Jagan Mohan Reddy government by winning 135 of the 175 Assembly seats in the 2024 polls. Its allies Janasena won 21 seats and BJP won eight seats.

Besides the prime minister, the event will be attended by Home Minister Amit Shah, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhjan Lal Sharma, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

Kalyan’s brother and Telugu superstar Chiranjeevi is also expected to attend the event with his son Ram Charan. Other film personalities including actors Rajinkanth, Mohan Babu, Allu Arjun and Junior NTR, the latter duo being the nephews of Naidu, have been invited to attend the ceremony, reports said.

All eyes on Odisha’s first BJP CM

Wednesday evening will see Odisha welcome its first BJP chief minister Majhi.

Majhi was selected as the leader of the BJP legislature party on Tuesday soon after being named the chief minister-designate.

A four-time MLA, Majhi is known for his advocacy of tribal rights and has raised issues concerning the tribal community in the floor of the house during his tenure as the chief whip of BJP.

Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo and Pravati Parida will be sworn in as the deputy chief ministers of Odisha.

With the swearing in ceremony scheduled for 5 pm, Prime Minister Modi will start for Bhubaneswar at around 12.45 pm after attending Naidu’s oath-taking. BJP sources said he is expected to reach the state capital at 2.30 pm from where he would proceed to the Raj Bhavan.

Apart from high profile dignitaries including Union ministers and chief ministers of BJP-ruled states, the event is likely to be attended by former chief minister Naveen Patnaik, who has been sent an invitation.

Patnaik, who ruled Odisha for five terms saw his reign come to a close after the BJP swept 78 seats in the 147-member assembly in the recently-held polls.

As many as 30,000 people are expected to attend the swearing in ceremony of Majhi at Bhubaneswar’s Janata Maidan.