Bhubaneswar, Apr 17 (PTI) Leader of Opposition in Odisha assembly, Naveen Patnaik, on Thursday filed his nomination papers for the post of BJD president for the ninth time here.

The former chief minister was the sole candidate for the post, said BJD’s returning officer for the organisational elections, Pratap K Deb.

Patnaik has been elected BJD president eight times in a row since the party’s inception in 1997. He was last elected to the post in February 2020.

He filed his nomination papers on the 28th death anniversary of his father Biju Patnaik, after whom the regional party, the Biju Janata Dal, is named.

“The time for filing nominations was between 10 am and 1 pm. We have received only one nomination from Naveen Patnaik and the name of the president will be announced on April 19 at Sankha Bhawan,” Deb said.

Earlier on April 15, the BJD had announced names of 18 district presidents, who were elected unopposed, in the fourth phase of the organisational elections.

Two more phases are due to be held in the next two days, Deb said. PTI AAM MNB AAM RBT