Who is Mohan Majhi, BJP's first chief minister in Odisha?
BJP for the first time got a clear mandate in Odisha, ending the 24-year stint of the BJD.
BJP leader Mohan Charan Majhi on Wednesday took oath as the chief minister of Odisha. He is BJP's first chief minister in Odisha.
Beside Majhi, senior BJP leader and Patnagarh MLA KV Singh Deo and debutant from Nimapara assembly segment Pravati Parida took oath as deputy chief ministers.
Governor Rabghubar Das administered the oath of secrecy and office to Majhi and other members of his council of ministers.
Also Read | Odisha CM Mohan Majhi, deputies sworn-in. Who all made it as cabinet ministers?
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP chief JP Nadda, Union Ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Bhupender Yadav, Dharmendra Pradhan, Jual Oram, Ashwini Vaishnaw and others attended the ceremony.
BJP for the first time got a clear mandate in Odisha, ending the 24-year stint of the BJD. Follow LIVE updates.
The saffron party stormed to power in Odisha by securing 78 seats in the 147-member Assembly while Patnaik-led BJD got 51 seats, Congress (14), CPI(M) won in one seat while Independents got three.
Who is Mohan Charan Majhi?
- Mohan Charan Majhi, 53, is the third tribal to be the state’s chief minister after Hemanand Biswal and Giridhar Gamang.
- Majhi, who is a former sarpanch (village head), is a four-term and sitting legislator from the Keonjhar assembly seat. He won the assembly elections of 2000, 2004, 2019, and 2024.
- Majhi, who was the chief whip of the BJP in the previous assembly, is a post-graduate who hails from the Santhal tribe and is counted among the erudite tribal voices in Odisha.
- Back in 2009, Majhi was among the first to raise his voice against the excess mining of iron ore and manganese from the Joda and Barbil area of the district that led to an investigation by retired Supreme Court judge justice MB Shah (retd).
- In the 2024 Odisha assembly election, Majhi defeated BJD's Meena Majhi by a margin of 11,577 votes. They secured 87,815 and 76,238 votes respectively, according to the Election Commission.
