PM Modi arrives in Bhubaneswar for oath ceremony of Odisha CM-designate Mohan Charan Majhi

BHUBANESWAR: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday to attend the oath-taking ceremony of Odisha's Chief Minister-designate Mohan Charan Majhi scheduled to take place at 5 pm at Janata Maidan.

Governor of Odisha, Raghubar Das, and CM-designate Majhi personally welcomed Prime Minister Modi at the airport.

The Prime Minister, who was recently sworn in for a third consecutive term on June 9, sported a traditional white kurta and churidar, complemented by a light-colored jacket.

The ceremony will also see the presence of several high-profile leaders from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath were among the dignitaries who arrived in Bhubaneswar to witness the event.

Earlier in the day, ahead of his swearing-in ceremony, Odisha Chief Minister-designate Mohan Charan Manjhi said that protecting Odisha's 'Asmita' (pride) will be the priority of the new government.

Four-time MLA Mohan Charan Majhi is set to be sworn in as Odisha's CM today evening.

Two deputy chief ministers; first-time MLA Pravati Parida and six-time legislator Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo will also be sworn in today.

"The new government will take oath today. The first job after taking the oath is to work to protect Odisha's 'Asmita' (pride)," Majhi told reporters on Wednesday."Our double engine government is coming will work for fulfilling Modi guarantees and to resolve the problems of marginalized people," he added.

Meanwhile, Majhi along with his Deputy CM-designates KV Singh Deo and Pravati Parida paid floral tributes to Sriram Chandra Bhanj Deo, 'Utkalamani' Gopabandhu Das, Parala Maharaja Krushna Chandra Gajapati and Ramachandra Mardaraj Deo in Bhubaneswar.

Later he visited Maitri Vihar in Bhabaneswar, where he met members of Santal community (one of the tribal communities).

The community members also welcomed Odisha CM-designate Majhi, Deputy Chief Ministers-designate KV Singh Deo and Pravati Parida in their traditional way by washing their feet there.

"...I was welcomed by them ( members of a tribal community) as per the tradition. We have not left behind our traditions," Majhi said while speaking to media.

PM Modi will later attend the oath-taking ceremony at Janata Maidan at 5 pm.

"The swearing-in ceremony will take place at 5:00 pm," Odisha BJP President Manmohan Samal said.

Majhi (52), belongs to the Santali tribe and hails from the state's Keonjhar district.

He was elected leader of the BJP legislature party in Odisha on Tuesday. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh made the announcement meeting newly-elected BJP MLAs here.

Beginning his career as a sarpanch from 1997-2000, Majhi was elected to the state assembly for the first time in 2000 from Keonjhar.

He was re-elected in 2004. From 2005 to 09, he was the government deputy chief whip in the BJD-BJP coalition government.

He was again elected as an MLA in 2019. In the recent polls, Majhi retained the seat by defeating BJD's Mina Majhi by 11,577 votes.

BJP will form its first government in Odisha after getting a majority in the assembly polls which were held simultaneously with the Lok Sabha polls.

Rajnath Singh and Union Minister Bhupender Yadav were in the state capital as the party's central observers for the meeting of MLAs yesterday.

The BJP won 78 of 147 seats in the Odisha assembly.