Bhubaneswar: It was on this day (June 11) a year ago that the BJP sprung a surprise by announcing Keonjhar MLA Mohan Majhi as the Chief Minister of its maiden government in Odisha.
Till a day prior to that, he was not even among the top two contenders among the state leaders for the top post.
The saffron party had kept everybody guessing about Odisha chief minister’s name after pulling off a major upset in the Assembly elections, pocketing 78 of the 147 seats. The party had contested the polls without a chief ministerial candidate under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Even a week after drawing curtains on Naveen Patnaik’s 24-year rule by defeating the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in the elections, the BJP kept the CM’s name a guarded secret. The results were declared on June 2, 2024.
On June 11, 2024, the BJP’s legislature party held a meeting in presence of Central observers – Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Minister of Environment, Forest and climate Change Bhupendra Yadav – and elected the Keonjhar MLA as its leader and new chief minister of Odisha.
Several factors went in favour of Majhi, including his strong RSS connection symbolising ideological consistency and discipline. He was firebrand tribal leader from Santhal community, native to Jharkhand, West Bengal, Bihar and Odisha, and belonged to the mineral-rich Keonjhar district.
Interestingly, BJP had won 55% of Assembly seats reserved for STs in 2024 and 80% of ST-dominated Lok Sabha seats.
The four-time MLA also had a clean and transparent image to his credit.
An RSS member from his student days, he started his political career as the sarpanch of Raikala in 1992 and continued in the post till 1997. He worked as a Guruji in Saraswati Sishu Vidya Mandir at Jhumpura in Keonjhar for around three years before taking a plunge into active politics by contesting from Keonjhar Sadar Assembly seat on BJP ticket in 2000. He won the seat back in 2004, but lost it in 2009 and 2014. He bounced back in 2019 and election and was elected from Keonjhar seat again. He held his seat in 2024.
He is also known for his public service and organisational skills. He was the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC). Besides, he was a member of the Standing Committee of SC and ST under the ORV Act. He was also the government deputy chief whip from 2005-2009 when BJD ran a coalition government with the BJP.
