Mohan Charan Majhi will take over as Odisha’s new chief minister after he was elected as the leader of the BJP legislature party meeting on Tuesday.
52-year-old Majhi will take oath at the swearing-in ceremony on June 12, which will also be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Majhi will be the first BJP Odisha CM since the state came into existence.
Prabhati Parida and KV Sing Deo will be deputy chief ministers of the state where the BJP ended Naveen Patnaik’s 24 years rule. The decisions were taken at the BJP legislature party meeting attended by Singh and Union minister Bhupender Yadav as observers.
BJP won the assembly elections, winning 74 seats in the 147-member House.
Union ministers Rajnath Singh, who was one of the BJP observes to select the new CM after the assembly elections win, described Majhi as a “young and dynamic party karyakarta” who will take the state forward on road to progress and prosperity as the new Chief Minister of Odisha.
Mohan Majhi, 52 years old, belong to the tribal community. He was first elected to the Odisha assembly from the Keonjhar seat in 2000 and continue to represent the constituency.
The four-time MLA is known for his public service and organisational skills. Before his assembly debut, he served as a Sarapanch from 1997 till 2000. He was also a member of Standing Committee of S.C. & S.T. under ORV Act.
Majhi was the government Deputy Chief Whip from 2005 till 2009 when the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) ran a coalition government with the BJP.
In the recently-concluded assembly polls, the BJP leader defeated BJD’s Mina Majhi by a margin of 11,577 votes.
With inputs from News18
BJP prepares for nationwide organisational rejig 