Odisha Chief Minister-designate Mohan Charan Majhi met with outgoing CM and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) chief Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday, prior to the swearing-in ceremony. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to attend the event marking the inauguration of Odisha’s new Chief Minister and cabinet. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has ended the 24-year rule of Patnaik-led BJD.
Majhi, a four-time MLA and prominent tribal leader, will assume the role after senior state leaders Dharmendra Pradhan and Jual Oram joined the Union government. The party has also chosen KV Singh Deo and Pravati Parida as Deputy Chief Ministers.
Odisha BJP President Manmohan Samal stated, “PM Modi will arrive on 12th June by 2:30 pm for the oath-taking ceremony. The swearing-in will occur at 5:00 pm.”
Majhi’s political journey began as a Sarpanch from 1997-2000. He was first elected to the state assembly in 2000 from Keonjhar with the BJD-BJP alliance and re-elected in 2004. From 2005 to 2009, he served as the government deputy chief whip in the BJD-BJP coalition. Majhi became an MLA again in 2019 and retained his seat recently by defeating BJD’s Mina Majhi by 11,577 votes. In the last assembly, he was the opposition chief whip. Majhi will be the first Chief Minister from the tribal-dominated Keonjhar district, which has a significant 23% tribal population.
Upon his election as CM, Majhi stated he would be sworn in on Wednesday and then visit Puri to express gratitude to Lord Jagannath.
KV Singh Deo, named Deputy CM, is a six-time MLA from Patnagarh in Balangir District and part of Patnagarh’s royal family. Despite losing in 2019, he won in 2024. Deo has previously served as a minister in the BJD-BJP coalition, and his grandfather, Rajendra Narayan Singh Deo, was a former CM of Odisha. His wife, Sangeeta Singh Deo, is currently the MP from Balangir. Pravati Parida, also chosen as Deputy CM, is a first-time MLA from Nimapada in Puri District and previously served as the president of the party’s women’s wing in Odisha.