Mohan Charan Majhi sworn in as Odisha CM, PM Modi and Naveen Patnaik attend ceremony

Four-time MLA and tribal leader Mohan Charan Majhi was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Odisha on Wednesday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and a number of Union Ministers and chief ministers of several states ruled by the BJP attended the swearing-in ceremony at Janata Maidan in Bhubaneswar. Former Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik also attended the oath-taking ceremony.  

Hours before the swearing-in ceremony, Majhi met former Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and invited him to the event. He drove to Naveen Niwas, Patnaik's residence, where he formally extended the invitation. He said that Patnaik assured him he would attend the ceremony.

On Tuesday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh announced that Majhi would be the next chief minister. He also announced that KV Singh Deo and Pravati Parida would be the deputy chief minister. 

he chief whip of the BJP in the previous assembly, Majhi was elected to the assembly in recently held elections for the fourth time. He defeated Mina Majhi of the BJD from the Keonjhar assembly constituency. The tribal leader, who kicked off his political career as a village sarpanch nearly three decades ago, hailed from Raikala village in the tribal-dominated and mineral-rich Keonjhar district. The son of a watchman, he was elected to the assembly for the first time in 2000. 

KV Singh Deo, who belongs to the erstwhile royal family of Patnagarh, was elected to the Odisha assembly for the sixth time from the Patnagarh constituency. He has also served as Minister of Industry and Public Enterprises during the BJP-BJD coalition government (2000-2009). Singh Deo's wife Sangeeta Kumari Devi is a four-time MP from Bolangir. A graduate from Delhi University, his grandfather R N Singh Deo was the chief minister of Odisha from 1966 to 1971. 

Pravati Parida is the first-time MLA from the Nimapara seat. She tasted success after three successive defeats. She obtained her law degree from Utkal University in 1995 and enrolled as an advocate in the Orissa High Court the same year. Parida also completed post-graduation in Public Administration in 2005 from the varsity. 

The BJP stormed to power in Odisha, bagging 78 of the 147 assembly seats, bringing an end to the 24-year rule of the Naveen Patnaik-led BJD. 

(With inputs from PTI)