BJP’s tribal leader and four-time Keonjhar MLA Mohan Charan Majhi will be the chief minister of Odisha, where the party came to power for the first time with a clear mandate in the Assembly elections, ending the 24-year stint of the BJD.
Patnagarh MLA and former minister K.V. Singh Deo and first-time MLA Pravati Parida have been made deputy chief ministers, BJP central observer and Union minister Rajnath Singh after the end of the legislature party meeting announced it at the party office here on Tuesday.
Earlier, the party had executed its formula of a CM supported by two deputy chief ministers in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan.
The party sought to strike a balance by making a tribal the chief minister and giving crucial positions to an experienced leader like Singh Deo while accommodating a woman who won for the first time.
The leaders, led by Singh, met governor Raghubar Das at the Raj Bhavan and staked claim to form the first-ever BJP government in Odisha.
Majhi, Singh Deo and Parida will take the oath on Wednesday in the presence of a galaxy of leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Majhi, 52, who was the deputy leader of the BJP in the last Assembly, is perceived to be a hardliner. He made his political debut as a sarpanch in 1997. An agriculturist by profession, Majhi, was first elected to the Odisha Assembly in 2000. He had represented the Assembly in 2000-2004, 2004-2009 and 2019-2024. In the 2024 Assembly elections, he defeated Mina Majhi of the BJD by 11,577 votes.
Known for his fiery speeches on various issues, Majhi was also the government deputy chief whip from 2005 to 2009 during the BJD-BJP coalition government in Odisha.
There were many contenders for the post, including state BJP president Manmohan Samal, but the party was forced to exclude him from the race as the new legislators demanded that only an elected MLA should be considered for the post. Samal lost the 2024 Assembly polls.
For the election of the candidate, the legislature meeting was held at the party office in Bhubaneswar. Two central observers, Rajnath Singh and Bhupendra Yadav, were present at the meeting, which was also attended by the 20 newly elected MPs, including Dharmendra Pradhan, the MLAs and Union railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.
After the meeting, the newly elected BJP legislature party leader Majhi said: “The BJP got the majority in Odisha because of the blessings of the people. The four-and-a-half crore people of Odisha wanted a change. They blessed us and the long 24-year rule has changed. People have reposed their faith in the BJP. We all resolve to make Odisha number one.”
Singh Deo, 68, the six-time MLA from Patnagarh in Bolangir district, is the grandson of former chief minister R.N. Singh Deo. He made his political debut in 1995 and has been winning elections until 2019 but won again in 2024. He had held various ministerial berths during the BJD-BJP government between 2000 and 2009.
Parida won the Assembly elections by defeating BJD candidate Dilip Kumar Nayak from Nimapara in Puri district, a BJD stronghold, by a margin of 4,588 votes. She had unsuccessfully contested as an Independent in 2009 and on BJP tickets in 2014 and 2019.
PM Modi, the newly inducted Union ministers and other dignitaries will attend the swearing-in ceremony at Janata Maidan. The BJP has also invited the BJD president and outgoing chief minister Naveen Patnaik to the swearing-in ceremony.
A delegation led by BJP state unit president, Samal, on Tuesday visited Naveen Niwas and extended the invitation to the former CM.
“BJD president Naveen Patnaik accepted our invitation and assured us that he would attend the swearing-in ceremony. We are also trying to get in touch with the Congress leaders. We would like to invite them and be a part of the swearing-in ceremony,” said former BJP state unit president Samir Mohanty.
It has also invited the governor, RBI governor, chief ministers, Padma awardees and eminent personalities from different fields.
