Bhubaneswar, BJP tribal leader Mohan Charan Majhi, who was named as the 15th Chief Minister of Odisha, started his political career as a village sarpanch nearly three decades ago.

Majhi (52), son of a watchman, hailing from Raikala village in tribal-dominated and mineral-rich Keonjhar district, has been elected to the Odisha Assembly four times - in 2000, 2004, 2019 and 2024.

Majhi, a graduate, was the village head from 1997-2000. Before being elected MLA from Keonjhar in 2000, he was also the secretary of BJP's Tribal Morcha.

In the 2024 assembly elections, he retained the Keonjhar seat by defeating BJD's Meena Majhi. He was the Chief Whip of the opposition in the previous Odisha Assembly, taking on the BJD government on several key issues.

In his first reaction after being made the chief minister, Majhi said, “Due to the blessings of Lord Jagannath, BJP won majority in Odisha and is going to form the government in the state. I want to thank the 4.5 crore Oriyas who voted for change.

Majhi also said that the BJP will respect the trust of the people of Odisha.

Registering a historic victory, the saffron party came to power in the state by winning 78 of the 147 assembly seats.

The swearing-in ceremony of the Chief Minister will be held at Janata Maidan here on Wednesday.