WATCH: Odisha CM-Designate Mohan Majhi, Deputy CMs Welcomed By Santal Community By Washing Their Feet

The Santal community, a tribal group, paid their traditional respect for Odisha CM-designate Mohan Charan Majhi, Deputy Chief Ministers-designate KV Singh Deo, and Pravati Parida by washing their feet at Maitri Vihar in Bhubaneswar at Maitri Vihar on Wednesday. This gesture symbolizes a deep-rooted tradition of hospitality and honor within the community.

Tribal leader and four-time MLA from Keonjhar Mohan Charan Majhi will be the new Chief Minister of Odisha, where the Bharatiya Janata Party has come to power for the first time, and will be sworn in on Wednesday. Following a meeting of newly elected BJP MLAs at the party headquarters, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh declared that 52-year-old Majhi had been unanimously elected as the leader of the legislature party, paving the way for him to become the Chief Minister.

The BJP also announced the erstwhile Balangir royal family scion and Patnagarh MLA Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo and Nimapara MLA Pravati Parida as Deputy Chief Ministers.

As Majhi’s name was proposed for the Chief Minister’s post, legislators Surama Padhi, Laxman Bag, Rabinarayan Nayak, and Prithiviraj Harichandan seconded the proposal while other MLAs showed their support.

#WATCH | The members of Santal community (one of the tribal communities) welcomed Odisha CM-designate Mohan Charan Majhi, Deputy Chief Ministers-designate KV Singh Deo and Pravati Parida in their traditional way by washing their feet at Maitri Vihar in Bhubaneswar, today pic.twitter.com/UY6UokP38H

— ANI (@ANI) June 12, 2024

The BJP bagged 78 seats in the 147-member Assembly, ending the 24-year rule of the Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal government in the state. Three independent candidates have also announced their support to the party.

Majhi was first elected to the Odisha Assembly from Keonjhar in 2000 and has been elected from the seat since then, except in 2009-2014 as the BJD continued its domination in the state. He was re-elected in the elections, after beating the BJD candidate Mina Majhi by a margin of 11,577 votes.

He began his career as a teacher in Saraswati Sishu Mandir which is an RSS affiliated Vidya Bharati educational institution and then left teaching for a formal political career, serving as a sarpanch from 1997 to 2000.

Majhi also has the experience of being the Secretary of the BJP State Adivasi Morcha and the Deputy Chief Whip of the BJP from 2005 to 2009 during the BJD BJP coalition government. He also held the position of the party whip in the last assembly before the recent one.