Mohan Charan Majhi took oath as the first BJP chief minister of Odisha on Wednesday at a ceremony in Bhubaneswar that was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Four-time MLA and tribal leader Majhi was administered oath by Odisha Governor Raghubar Das at Bhubaneswar’s Janata Maidan.
The two Deputy Chief Ministers – Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo and Pravati Parida – and eight ministers and five ministers of state (independent charge) also took oath on Wednesday.
Five-time Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik, whose party was dethroned by the BJP after 24-year-old reign, was also present at Majhi’s swearing-in ceremony.
Earlier in the day, Majhi met Patnaik and had invited him to attend the oath-taking ceremony of the Odisha Government.
BJP chief JP Nadda, Union Ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Bhupender Yadav, Dharmendra Pradhan, Jual Oram, Ashwini Vaishnaw and others too attended the Odisha’s CM oath taking ceremony.
Several chief ministers of BJP-ruled states including Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand were also present.
2024 Odisha Assembly polls result
In the 2024 Odisha election, BJP dethroned the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) after the 24-year-old reign of Naveen Patnaik.
The BJP won 78 out of 147 seats in the Odisha Assembly and support from three Independent MLAs increased their strength to 81.
The BJD and BJP were in an 11-year alliance from 1998 to 2009 and had contested three Lok Sabha and two Assembly polls together. Patnaik had ended the alliance before the general elections in 2009 following a riot in Kandhamal.
Who is Odisha’s new CM Mohan Charan Majhi?
Majhi belongs to Santhal tribe and represents tribal-reserved Keonjhar assembly seat in Odisha. He is known for his non-controversial and vocal nature.
The 52-year-old Majhi started his political career as a sarpanch in 1997-2000 and after that he has risen through the ranks. He was elected to the Assembly for the first time in 2000 from Keonjhar.
In 2004, Majhi was re-elected from the Keonjhar seat and became the deputy chief whip from 2005 to 2009 in the BJD-BJP coalition government.
After being defeated in elections in 2009 and 2014, Majhi was elected again in 2019 from the seat, which he retained in 2024. In the previous Assembly, Majhi was the Opposition chief whip.
He has also worked as secretary of State Advasi Morcha (BJP).
He was unanimously elected as the BJP Legislature Party leader at a meeting held in the presence of Union Ministers and party observers Rajnath Singh and Bhupender Yadav on Tuesday (June 11).
Majhi will be the third tribal chief minister of Odisha after Hemananda Biswal and Giridhar Gamang, both from Congress.
With inputs from agencies
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WATCH: Mohan Charan Majhi takes oath as Odisha’s first BJP CM; PM Modi, Naveen Patnaik attend event
