Mohan Charan Majhi, a tribal leader and four-time MLA from the mineral-rich district of Keonjhar, was sworn in as the 15th chief minister of Odisha on Wednesday.
Majhi, 52, replaced Naveen Patnaik, ending the latter’s 24 years and 99 days of uninterrupted rule and ushering in a new era in state politics. He is the first BJP chief minister of Odisha. He has also become the third tribal chief minister of the state after Giridhar Gamang and Hemananda Biswal.
Besides Majhi, two deputy chief ministers — K.V. Singh Deo and Pravati Parida — along with eight cabinet ministers and five state ministers took oath on Wednesday.
K.V. Singh Deo is a six-time MLA from Bolangir district’s Patnagarh Assembly constituency, while Pravati Parida is the first-time MLA from Nimapara in Puri district.
After taking the oath, Majhi said: “To keep Odia pride intact remains our top priority. We will ensure that Odisha progresses under the double-engine government.”
Earlier, the party had executed its formula of a chief minister supported by two deputy chief ministers in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan. It is worth mentioning that having two deputy chief ministers is not a new phenomenon in Odisha. The experiment was done during the Congress’s regime from 1995 to 2000 when Hemananda Biswal and Basanta Biswal had served as deputy chief ministers in the Congress government led by J.B. Patnaik from 1995 to 1998.
Governor Raghubar Das administered the oath to the chief minister and the new ministers at a glittering ceremony held at Janata Maidan, an open field spread over 10 acres.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the swearing-in ceremony.
Majhi visited Naveen Niwas before the swearing-in ceremony to personally invite Naveen to attend the event.
Majhi's humane side
Hours before being elected as the BJP legislature party leader on Tuesday, Majhi was in the hospital morgue to console the family members of his personal assistant.
Majhi was about to go to attend the BJP legislature party meeting when he got a call from one of his acquaintances that his personal assistant Chandan Kumar Mohapatra died in a road accident and the body was in a hospital. Majhi immediately rushed to the hospital to stand by the family members of Chandan.
