Odisha
Who is Mohan Charan Majhi, the first BJP Chief Minister of Odisha?
In a surprise pick, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chose Mohan Charan Majhi, a relatively unknown face, as its debut Chief Minister of Odisha, which it had never ruled as a single party.
The BJP has opted for two Deputy Chief Ministers, the posts which are common in the saffron-ruled states.
The two Deputy Chief Ministers are Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo and Pravati Parida.
The Chief Minister, his deputies will take oath at 4:55 pm on Wednesday, more than a week after the BJP uninstalled the 25-year rule of Biju Janata Dal (BJD) government under Naveen Patnaik's leadership.
Who is Mohan Charan Majhi, the CM-elect of Odisha?
Mohan Charan Majhi is from a tribal Santhal community. He won from Koenjhar constituency defeating BJD by over 11,000 votes.
A four-term MLA, Majhi is with the BJP for a long time. He was also a teacher at a school, which is a part of RSS' educational wing, in Koenjhar district.
Photo courtesy: courtesy: BhupendraYadav X handle
Majhi was elected to the assembly for the first time in 2000 and got re-elected in 2004. After BJP and BJD broke their ties, Majhi lost in 2009 and also couldn't win in 2014.
But he returned to the assembly in 2019 and virtually led the BJP's charge against the Naveen Patnaik government as the chief whip.
After Leader of Opposition Pradipta Kumar Naik was hospitalised, Majhi stepped in to corner the Patnaik government.
Details about the Deputy CMs
The BJP has interestingly picked two of its leaders as the Deputy Chief Ministers of the state.
Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo, 67, is a 6-term MLA, who has been picked as Majhi's one of the two deputies.
A former BJP state chief, Singh Deo hails from a royal family of Patnagarh. He studied BA from the Delhi University.
Photo courtesy: X/@Pravatipridabjp
Won from Patnagarh assembly constituency, Singh Deo is a former cabinet minister in the BJD government from 2000 to 2009 until Patnaik broke the alliance with BJP.
Singh Deo is also the grandson of former Odisha (then Orissa) Chief Minister Rajendra Narayan Singh Deo.
An MLA from Nimapara constituency, Pravati Parida, the other Deputy Chief Minister, is the first-term lawmaker.
Parida, who won by a huge margin of over 95,000 votes defeating BJD's Dilip Kumar Nayak, is the first woman Deputy Chief Minister of Odisha.
Photo courtesy: X/@Pravatipridabjp
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