Rising from the dusty village of Raikala in the tribal-dominated and mineral-rich Keonjhar district, 52-year-old Mohan Charan Majhi, son of a school peon Gunaram Majhi, was a surprise pick for the chief minister of the first BJP government in the state by the party high command.
A post-graduate with a Law degree, Majhi’s first brush with politics came after his brief stint as an Acharya (teacher) of Saraswati Sishu Mandir in Jhumpura. He was elected sarpanch of Raikala panchayat in 1997 and continued in the post till 2000 when the BJP nominated him from Keonjhar (ST) Assembly constituency.
Elected twice to the Assembly when the BJP was in alliance with the BJD, Majhi lost the next two elections in 2009 and 2014. After being one of the longest-serving secretaries of BJP Adivasi Morcha, he was elevated to general secretary of state ST Morcha.
On being elected to the Assembly in 2019, Majhi became the Opposition chief whip and was assigned the job of chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, one of the most powerful House committees. He became the voice of BJP in the Assembly who took on the BJD government on important issues be it mining scam, mid-day meal scam and the controversial regulations on tribal land transfer.
Majhi’s moment came when his name was announced as the next chief minister by Union Defence minister Rajnath Singh on June 11, 2024 after a formal meeting of BJP legislature party in Bhubaneswar. He assumed the seat, and within a short span of six months proved that his party has not made a wrong choice.
The accolades showered on him by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his recent visit to the state is an attestation to Majhi’s ability and growing popularity as a ‘people’s chief minister’.