Bhubaneswar: It was on this day (June 11) a year ago that the BJP sprung a surprise by announcing Keonjhar MLA Mohan Majhi as the Chief Minister of its maiden government in Odisha.Till a day prior to that, he was not even among the top two contenders among the state leaders for the top post.The saffron party had kept everybody guessing about Odisha chief minister’s name after pulling off a major upset in the Assembly elections, pocketing 78 of the 147 seats. The party had contested the polls without a chief ministerial candidate under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.Even a week after drawing curtains on Naveen Patnaik’s 24-year rule by defeating the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in the elections, the BJP kept the CM’s name a guarded secret. The results were declared on June 2, 2024.On June 11, 2024, the BJP’s legislature party held a meeting in presence of Central observers – Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Minister of Environment, Forest and climate Change Bhupendra Yadav – and elected the Keonjhar MLA as its leader and new chief minister of Odisha.Several factors went in favour of Majhi, including his strong RSS connection symbolising ideological consistency and discipline. He was firebrand tribal leader from Santhal community, native to Jharkhand, West Bengal, Bihar and Odisha, and belonged to the mineral-rich Keonjhar district.
