Kolkata/Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi is set to participate in key consultations in Kolkata on Friday alongside Union Home Minister Amit Shah, ahead of the BJP’s crucial legislature party meeting to elect its leader in West Bengal Assembly.
The legislature party leader is expected to take oath as Bengal’s first BJP Chief Minister on Saturday, May 9.
Shah has been appointed as the central observer, signalling the direct involvement of the BJP’s top leadership in the crucial decision-making process, and Majhi named as the co-observer to assist in overseeing the proceedings.
The Odisha CM, left for Kolkata on Thursday after a three-day business trip to Gujarat. “ “…The Bengal elections were held, and the result came in favour of the BJP. Certainly, as a co-observer, I also got a great opportunity to work with the HM Amit Shah… Talking with our party’s central leadership and under the leadership of Amit Shah, discussions will definitely be held… a stable and good government will be formed in West Bengal,” he told reporters.
According to BJP sources, Shah and Majhi will engage in further deliberations with the 207 newly-elected MLAs and prominent state figures ahead of the legislature party meeting scheduled for Friday afternoon, likely around 4 pm. The name of the legislature party leader is expected to be finalised and announced during this gathering in the presence of the two central observers.
Majhi, appointed as the central co-observer for the process, will assist in conducting discussions among party legislators and help ensure a smooth selection of the legislature party leader. He has already held preliminary discussions with the Home Minister on the matter.
This marks his first major political assignment outside Odisha since his surprise elevation as Chief Minister nearly two years ago. The four-time tribal MLA, whose swift rise within the party has drawn considerable attention, is seen as receiving a strong endorsement from the BJP’s central leadership through this deployment. Party insiders view his involvement as a strategic push to leverage his growing stature in neighbouring states. As a star campaigner for the BJP, he addressed multiple rallies and roadshows, particularly targeting areas with a sizable Odia-speaking population. In his speeches, he showcased Odisha’s development achievements under the BJP government and urged voters to back a “double-engine government” in Bengal for accelerated progress.
Majhi is expected to remain in Kolkata for the grand swearing-in ceremony on Saturday at Brigade Parade Ground, which coincides with the birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore (Panchishe Baishakh). The event is anticipated to be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP National President Nitin Nabin, several Union ministers, and Chief Ministers or Deputy Chief Ministers from BJP-ruled states.
The BJP’s sweeping victory in the 2026 West Bengal polls—securing around 207 of 294 seats and ending the Trinamool Congress’ long rule—has set the stage for the formation of the state’s first saffron government. Suvendu Adhikari has emerged as a leading contender for the top post, though the final decision rests with the legislature party and central observers.
