Mohan Charan Majhi: First BJP Chief Minister in Odisha

BJP’s tribal leader and four-time MLA Mohan Charan Majhi took oath as Chief Minister of Odisha on Wednesday, June 12 at Janata Maidan in Bhubaneswar. Following Majhi, Pravati Parida and Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo also took oath as the two Deputy Chief Ministers.

| Updated: 12 June, 2024 6:58 pm IST

NEW DELHI: BJP’s tribal leader and four-time MLA Mohan Charan Majhi took oath as Chief Minister of Odisha on Wednesday, June 12 at Janata Maidan in Bhubaneswar.

Following Majhi, Pravati Parida and Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo also took oath as the two Deputy Chief Ministers. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and outgoing CM Naveen Patnaik were present at the swearing-in ceremony of CM-designate Mohan Charan Majhi.

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A lawyer by profession, Pravati Parida is Odisha’s first female Deputy Chief Minister. Pravati Parida won the election by securing 4,588 votes from Nimapara, triumphing over BJD leader Dilip Kumar Nayak. Meanwhile, the grandson of former Odisha CM Rajendra Narayan Singh Deo, KV Singh Deo, won by 1,357 votes from Patnagarh, defeating BJD’s Saroj Kumar Meher.

Besides the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Ministers, Suresh Pujari, Rabinarayan Naik, Nityananda Gond, Krushna Chandra Patra, Prithiviraj Harichandan, Mukesh Mahaling, Bibhuti Bhusan Jena, and Krushna Chandra Mohapatra are the eight BJP MLAs who took the oath on the same day as cabinet ministers.

The Odisha assembly enters a new era under the leadership of the BJP. The BJP’s victory in the assembly elections signifies the end of the 24-year reign of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), led by Naveen Patnaik.

In the recent polls, conducted concurrently with the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP secured a significant majority with 78 out of 147 seats, while the BJD lagged behind with 51 seats, falling short of the majority threshold of 74. The Congress secured 14 seats in the assembly. Previously, the BJD and the BJP were in alliance for 11 years between 1998 and 2009, during which they contested three Lok Sabha and two Assembly elections together.

The BJP MP from Sambalpur Lok Sabha constituency, Dharmendra Pradhan, and the six-time MP from Sundargarh Lok Sabha constituency, Jual Oram, have also been appointed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cabinet on June 9 at Rashtrapati Bhawan.

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