Ending all suspense, the Bharatiya Janata Party leadership has chosen a tribal, Mohan Charan Majhi, to become the chief minister of Odisha. Majhi becomes the first BJP chief minister of the state.
Along with Majhi, the BJP has chosen two deputy chief ministers – KV Singh Deo and Prabhati Parida. This is the first time that the state will have two deputy chief ministers.
Majhi, 52, comes from a humble background. After completing his education, he worked as a teacher in the Saraswati Sishu Mandir in his district Keonjhar before embarking on a political career. He won the Keonjhar assembly seat four times. He is known for his organisational skills.
After being elected as CM-designate, Majhi said: “The BJP has got a majority in Odisha and will form the government in Odisha with the blessings of Lord Jagannath. The people of Odisha have voted for a change and the BJP would honour the trust the people have in us.”
In 1992, Majhi unsuccessfully contested as a samiti member but later in 1997 he became a sarpanch of a gram panchayat in the district. He first became an MLA with a BJP ticket in 2000 from the Keonjhar assembly constituency. He retained the seat in 2004 but lost in 2009 following the break of alliance between the Biju Janata Dal and the BJP. He lost again in 2014.
In 2019, he reclaimed the Keojhar assembly seat by defeating his BJD rival and retained it in 2024. Contrast to Majhi, Singh Deo, 67, hails from the royal family of Balangir. A six-time MLA from the Patnagarh assembly constituency, Singh Deo was a cabinet minister in the BJD-BJP government.
Parida is a first-time MLA. In 2024, she was elected from Nimapara assembly constituency, where she had lost elections several times. However, she is a veteran as far as the BJP’s organisational setup is concerned. She was also the president of the state’s woman unit.
By making Majhi as the chief minister and Singh Deo and Parida as deputy chief ministers, the BJP’s leadership has obviously tried to strike a balance to satisfy the regional, tribal and women’s aspirations. The BJP has a fair presence in the western parts and all along tried to penetrate the tribal belt of Odisha. But it did not have a proper base in coastal Odisha while it had been unable to crack the women vote bank of the BJD.
However, after its electoral victory, the BJP wants to consolidate its position in western as well as coastal parts of the state while penetrating deep into tribal land. By rewarding Parida, it has tried to build its own base among the women.