Mohan Charan Majhi, 52, is all set to take oath as the fifteenth Chief Minister of Orissa and the first from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). After twenty-four long years, the coastal state has got a new leader as the people had voted in support of change in the recently held simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and the state Assembly. The son of a watchman, Majhi has always been associated with the BJP and has had held leadership positions in the party’s Adivasi Morcha. The tribal leader had started his political career as a sarpanch and is a four-time MLA from Keonjhar. He was also the Opposition Chief Whip in the out going Assembly. Moments after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh announced his name as the BJP legislature party’s unanimous choice for the top post, Majhi said: “Due to the blessings of Lord Jagannath, the BJP achieved majority in Odisha and is going to form the government in the state. I would like to thank the 4.5 crore Odias who voted for change.”
Majhi is also the third tribal Chief Minister of Orissa, the first two being the Congress’ Hemananda Biswal and Giridhar Gamang.
Majhi has two deputies – Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo, one of the senior most BJP leaders of the state, and Pravati Parida, a first-time MLA from Nimapara in Puri district. Singh Deo, who had been the Urban development minister in the Naveen Patnaik-led BJD-BJP coalition government in the state between 2000 and 2009, has experience in governance and is a prominent face of the party from western Orissa. Hailing from the erstwhile royal family of Patnagarh, Singh Deo has been a former president of BJP’s Orissa unit.
Pravati Parida, a former lawyer and social activist, has been the president of the women’s wing of Orissa BJP. She is going to take oath as the first woman Deputy Chief Minister of the state.
It is pertinent to note that by picking these three leaders for the top posts, the BJP has tried to represent three regions of the state – Majhi from the north, Singh Deo from the west and Parida from coastal Orissa.
The people of Orissa have great expectations from this new government that is going to be sworn-in today. It is incumbent upon this BJP government to address the pressing issues plaguing the state for long, such as migration of labour, poverty, unemployment, soaring prices and regional imbalance in prosperity.
Only time will tell how issues of the state are handled and whether Orissa reaches new heights under the new dispensation which enjoys not only a clear mandate but also the state is now under a
Double Engine government situation with support from the government at the Centre.