Bhubaneswar: After Madya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, the BJP sprung another surprise by announcing Keonjhar MLA-elect Mohan Charan Majhi as the chief minister of its first government in Odisha on Tuesday. Several factors seem to have gone in favour of Majhi for being elected as first BJP CM of Odisha.
A strong tribal leader, the 4-time MLA has a clean and transparent image to his credit. Before starting his political career, Majhi was working as Guruji in a Sishu Mandir school. Associated with Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) for a long time, he plunged into active politics in 1997 when he was elected as a sarpanch in Keonjhar. He has been elected to the Assembly for four times since 2000.
The tribal leader has served as the BJP whip in the Odisha Assembly and retained the Keonjhar Assembly seat in the just concluded assembly elections, defeating BJD’s Mina Majhi by 11,577 votes.
He has been a bitter critic of BJD government and has targeted the party on several issues and policies inside the Assembly as well as public fora. A leader with a very strong connection to Odisha, he has been vociferous on the matters related to the interests of the state.
With Majhi as chief minister, the party has sent a strong message about promoting the tribal communities which account for 24% of the state’s population. Besides, it has made its stand clear about protecting the mining and mineral resources of the state as Majhi represents mineral-rich Keonjhar.
Besides electing Majhi as chief minister, the BJP legislature party also elected two deputy chief ministers of the new government. By electing K V Singhdeo as deputy CM, the saffron party has given prominence to the interests of western Odisha, which has been clamouring for more attention from the government. KV, who belongs to the erstwhile royal family of Patnagarh, was elected for the sixth time from the constituency in the 2024 elections. He was a minister of Industry and Public Enterprise during the BJP-BJD coalition government (2000-2009). Having a good reputation in organisation matters, he has also served as state president of the party.
At the same time, the election of Prabhati Parida, who belongs to OBC category, as deputy CM aims at satisfying the voters of the coastal region as well as the OBC vote bank. Prabhati won Nimapada seat by 4,588 votes, defeating Dillip Kumar Nayak. Though a first-time MLA, she was given the prestigious post for her loyalty as a senior leader and involvement in party organisation.
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