Bhubaneswar (Odisha): Four-time BJP MLA Mohan Charan Majhi has been named Odisha's first BJP Chief Minister. He will take oath on June 12 here. BJP leaders Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo and Prabhati Parida will be the Deputy Chief Ministers in Odisha.
The decision was announced by the BJP after the meeting of its newly-elected MLAs in the presence of Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who was deputed by the saffron party as a central observer.
Mohan Majhi won from the Keonjhar Assembly Constituency in Odisha in the 2024 Assembly polls by defeating Biju Janata Dal's Mina Majhi by a margin of 11577 votes.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the swearing-in ceremony of Mohan Majhi. The BJP won 78 seats out of the total 147 seats in the Odisha Assembly. The Biju Janata Dal managed to win only 51 seats while the Congress won 14 seats.
Meanwhile, the preparations for the swearing-in ceremony of new Chief Minister of Odisha are in the final stage. A delegation of the BJP leaders comprising newly-elected MLAs Pravati Parida, Prithviraj Harichandan, Ashrit Pattanayak and Irasis Acharya reached Puri and visited Srimandir to invite Lord Jagannath to the grand ceremony.
"We came here (to Puri) to seek blessings from Lord Jagannath for the new journey of Odisha’s development. We sought blessings for the Odisha people and their well-being. It is because of his blessings that we have been offered a huge responsibility. We sought his blessings to take the state in the right direction. We also sought his blessings for those who are going to take oath tomorrow,” said Chilika MLA Prithviraj Harichandan.
Nimapara MLA Pravati Parida said, "For the development of Odisha, Lord Jagannath has blessed us. On behalf of the new Chief Minister and new Cabinet, we sought blessings from Lord Jagannath. We also sought his blessings to make Odisha the number one state.”
It is also understood that the BJP leaders extended an invitation to former Odisha Chief Minister and BJD leader Naveen Patnaik for the oath-taking ceremony.
