Fifty-two-year-old Mohan Charan Majhi has been chosen to be the next chief minister of Odisha by the BJP, the political party that secured 78 seats in the 147-member state assembly.
“Delighted to announce that Shri Mohan Charan Manjhi has been elected unanimously as the leader of Odisha BJP Legislature Party. He is 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. Many congratulations to him,” Defense Minister Rajnath Singh announced.
Majhi, who is scheduled to take oath on Wednesday, will be the third tribal to be the state’s chief minister after Hemanand Biswal and Giridhar Gamang.
Majhi was elected from the Keonjhar Sadar, a reserved constituency for tribals in the mining belt of Keonjhar. He was then unanimously selected as the leader of the BJP’s legislative party at a meeting held at the BJP’s Bhubaneswar party office in the presence of Rajnath Singh and union forest and environment minister Bhupinder Yadav.
Majhi is a post-graduate and hails from the Santhal tribe.
In 2009, he was among the first to raise voice against the excess mining of iron ore and manganese from the Joda and Barbil area of the district.
Manjhi, who won the election with a margin of over 87,000 votes, defeated Biju Janata Dal’s Mina Majhi and Congress candidate Prativa Manjari Naik.
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The oath-taking ceremony of Majhi and other leaders is likely to be held on June 12 at 5 pm, the BJP sources said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also expected to attend the same, party sources said, adding that several dignitaries, including Union Ministers and chief ministers of BJP-ruled states, are expected to attend the oath-taking ceremony of the new Odisha Chief Minister.
The BJD and the BJP were in alliance for 11 years between 1998 and 2009 and fought three Lok Sabha and two Assembly elections together.
Naveen Patnaik severed ties with the saffron party ahead of the 2009 general elections, months after a riot in Kandhamal the previous year.
