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Mohan Charan Majhi, born on January 6, 1972, in Raikala village, Keonjhar district, rose from modest origins to become Odisha’s 15th Chief Minister in June 2024, ending the 24-year rule of Naveen Patnaik’s Biju Janata Dal (BJD). A member of the Santhal tribal community, Majhi is the third tribal Chief Minister of Odisha, following Hemananda Biswal and Giridhar Gamang. The son of a school peon, Gunaram Majhi, completed his schooling at Jhumpura High School in 1987, graduated from Anandapur College in 1990, and earned a law degree from C.S. College, Champua, in 2011. Before entering politics, Majhi taught at Saraswati Sishu Mandir, a school affiliated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
Mohan Charan Majhi’s Resilient Political Career
Majhi’s electoral record showcases his resilience. His political journey began in 1997 as the sarpanch of Raikala panchayat, a role he held until 2000, when he was elected to the Odisha Legislative Assembly from Keonjhar as a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate.
Representing Keonjhar, a Scheduled Tribe-reserved constituency, he won Assembly elections in 2000, 2004, 2019, and 2024, securing 47.05% of votes in 2024, defeating BJD’s Meena Majhi. Despite losses in 2009 and 2014, he remained active, serving as the BJP’s chief whip in the Odisha Assembly from 2019 to 2024 and as chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee from 2022 to 2024. Majhi’s legislative contributions include moving seven private member bills, such as the Odisha Whistle Blowers’ Protection Bill, 2020, and the Odisha Mahila Gram Sabha Bill, 2021. His advocacy for responsible mining led to a 2009 investigation by Justice M.B. Shah into excessive iron ore and manganese mining in Keonjhar.
Spearheading Industrial Growth in 2025
Since assuming office, Majhi has prioritized Odisha’s industrial ascent. At the Utkarsh Odisha: Make-in-Odisha Conclave 2025, the state secured investment proposals worth ₹16.73 lakh crore, projected to create over 95,000 jobs. A landmark agreement with JSW and POSCO will establish a ₹40,000 crore mega steel plant in Keonjhar, producing 5 million tonnes annually. In April 2025, Majhi signed MoUs worth ₹1.03 lakh crore with oil and gas companies in New Delhi, including 13 agreements and 15 investment proposals. His November 2024 delegation to Singapore resulted in eight MoUs signed during President Tharman Shanmugaratnam’s January 2025 visit, covering IT, skill development, and green hydrogen production.
Chief Minister’s Vision to Empower Rural Odisha
Majhi’s administration has launched transformative rural initiatives. The ‘Bikashita Gaon, Bikashita Odisha’ scheme, introduced in February 2025 with ₹5,000 crore over five years, aims to enhance village infrastructure. The Godabarish Mishra Adarsh Prathamik Vidyalaya scheme will upgrade 6,794 primary schools by 2030, backed by ₹11,939 crore, while the ‘Sishu Vatika’ program, launched in April 2025, extends pre-school education to children aged 5-6 under the National Education Policy 2020. The 2025-26 budget, presented by Majhi on February 17, 2025, allocates ₹2.9 lakh crore, with ₹65,012 crore (6.1% of GSDP) for capital expenditure, including 75,000 km of world-class roads by 2030 and a metropolitan development region spanning 7,000 sq. km around Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, and Puri.
How has the Current Government Modernised Governance?
Majhi has embraced technology to streamline governance. In February 2025, he inaugurated the ‘Digital House’ under the National e-Vidhan Application, making the Odisha Assembly paperless, with 147 MLAs using tablets for proceedings, a move implemented in only 17 states. To strengthen law enforcement, his government plans to fill 12,000 Home Department vacancies, including 3,003 posts in the Odisha Special Striking Force and 2,000 traffic personnel. Majhi retains key portfolios, including Home, Finance, General Administration, Water Resources, and Information and Public Relations, ensuring direct oversight of critical sectors.
Challenges Faced by Mohan Charan Majhi
The opposition has criticized the discontinuation of schemes like Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana and made remarks perceived as insensitive about tribal women’s complexion, sparking protests. Former Union Minister Srikant Jena highlighted the state’s failure to act on a Supreme Court ruling that could yield ₹1 lakh crore annually through mining taxes.
Mohan Charan Majhi’s leadership blends grassroots empathy with ambitious development. His focus on industrial growth, rural empowerment, and digital governance aims to transform Odisha into an industrial hub by 2036, its centenary year.
