Ending all suspense, the BJP on Tuesday (June 11) announced Mohan Charan Majhi as the new chief minister of Odisha. MLA from Keonjhar, he was also the Opposition chief whip in Odisha legislative assembly. This also brings to an end the 24-year-old term of Naveen Patnaik as the chief minister of Odisha. Naveen Patnaik's BJD lost to the Bharatiya Janata Party in the recently concluded Odisha assembly elections.
The announcement was made by Rajnath Singh at a press conference on Tuesday (June 11).
Who Is Mohan Charan Majhi?
The 52-year-old Mohan Charan Majhi hails from the tribal community. He is a four-time MLA elected from the Keonjhar assembly seat.
He was born on January 6, 1972. He has a graduation degree (BA). The official records show his profession as "agriculturist".
He was also a football player in his younger days and represented the Rising Star Club, Raikala in Keonjhar.
He rose to prominence in state politics after becoming Sarapancha in 1997- 2000. He was also the BJP state Advasi Morcha secretary. He has also been the party's tribal face and has led the BJP SC/ST wing in Odisha. He lives in Raikala, Keonjhar.
Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo and Pravati Parida were announced as the deputy chief ministers. Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo, speaking to the media, said, "We will speak more after meeting the Governor. We have expressed gratitude to the public that 4.5 crore people of Odisha have brought BJP to power here. They trusted the words of PM Modi and gave us power. PM Modi has spoken about making Odisha the number 1 state and we will set that in motion."
The recently concluded Odisha assembly elections ended the over two-decade dominance of the BJD and Naveen Patnaik in state politics.
While the BJP won 78 seats out of the total 147 assembly seats, confortably crossing the majority mark, the BJD was reduced to 51 seats in the assembly elections. The Congress won 14 seats in the eastern state. Patnaik himself won from Hinjili seat but lost from Kantabanji. In a meeting held with the BJD MLAs post the elections, Patnaik asked the party to "continue serving the people of Odisha".
