Mohan Majhi sworn-in as Odisha CM with his cabinet; PM, other BJP leaders attend

Majhi, a four-term MLA from Keonjhar Sadar and a prominent tribal leader in the state, was chosen as the BJP legislature party leader on Tuesday at the meeting of party’s MLAs

Published on: Jun 12, 2024, 20:36:04 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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Bhubaneshwar:Mohan Majhi, the 52-year-old tribal MLA, was sworn in as the 16th chief minister of Odisha along with his 15 ministers in Bhubaneshwar at a function on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the swearing-in ceremony of new Odisha chief minister Mohan Majhi on Wednesday (Twitter/@narendramodi)

Odisha Governor Raghubar Das administered the oath of office and secrecy on Majhi, his two deputies, Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo and Pravati Parida, and 13 other ministers.

“With the blessings of Lord Jagannath and guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, ‘Developed Odisha’ will be formed. The hopes and aspirations of 4.5 crore [45 million] Odia people will be fulfilled,” Majhi wrote on X.

Several Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union defence minister Rajnath Singh, Union home minister Amit Shah, Union surface transport minister Nitin Gadkari, and BJP national president JP Nadda, Union railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and others, attended the ceremony that took place in Bhubaneswar’s Janata Maidan.

Chief ministers of states, Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath, Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel, Pushkar Singh Dhami of Uttarakhand, Rajasthan CM Bhajan Lal Sharma, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma, Madhya Pradesh CM Mohan Yadav and Vishnu Deo Sai of Chhatisgarh, were among the dignitaries present at the ceremony.

Former chief minister and Biju Janata Dal president Naveen Patnaik was also present at the swearing-in.

Majhi, a four-term MLA from Keonjhar Sadar and a prominent tribal leader in the state, was chosen as the BJP legislature party leader on Tuesday at the meeting of the party’s MLAs. His name had come as a surprise for many as he was picked ahead of popular names such as Suresh Pujari and Manmohan Samal.

The tribals, which consists of about 22% of the state’s population, wield influence in at least half of the 21 Lok Sabha and 147 Assembly constituencies.

Majhi is the first BJP leader to be sworn in as the chief minister of Odisha. He is also the third tribal CM of the state after Hemananda Biswal and Giridhari Gamang, both Congressmen.

Apart from Majhi and his two deputy CMs, eight cabinet ministers and five ministers of state with independent charge also took oath.

Those who took oath as cabinet ministers include Suresh Pujari, Rabi Narayan Naik, Nityanand Gond, Krushna Chandra Patra, Prithviraj Harichandan, Mukesh Mahaling, Bibhuti Bhusan Jena and Krushna Chandra Mahapatra. The ministers of state who took oath include Ganesh Ram Singh Khuntia, Suryabanshi Suraj, Pradeep Bala Samanta, Gokulananda Mallik, and Sampad Swain.

Also Read: Odisha CM-designate Mohan Majhi’s PA killed in road accident in Bhubaneshwar

Nine of his Majhi cabinet ministers are first-time MLAs. The portfolios of the ministers are yet to be announced. Meanwhile, senior BJP leader Surama Padhy has been appointed as the new Speaker of Odisha Assembly.

After the swearing-in, Majhi and his team of ministers drove to the Lok Seva Bhawan, which houses the State Secretariat, to hold the first-ever cabinet meeting of the new BJP government.

The Lok Seva Bhawan was also thrown open to journalists for the first time after it was closed in March 2020 following the Covid outbreak.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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