Mohan Majhi, who became the Chief Minister of Odisha after BJP’s clean sweep in the assembly and Lok Sabha elections, has stepped into the shoes of veteran Naveen Patnaik — one of the longest serving CMs of the country.
With Odisha’s political spectrum reflecting the hues of saffron after the BJP’s resounding victory in the just concluded Assembly elections, the discussions in political circles is centering around the comparison between Majhi and Patnaik.
Both the leaders hail from different backgrounds — Naveen Patnaik, who was born into the family of late Biju Patnaik, the founder of the Biju Janata Dal (BJP), in Cuttack, and Mohan Majhi grew up in a poor tribal family of Kendujahr district with no political background. His father Gunaram Majhi was a security guard.
Majhi did his schooling at Jhumpura High School in 1987 and finished his higher secondary from Anandapur College in 1990. He obtained a BA degree from Chandra Sekhar College, and did LLB from Dhenkanal Law College. Whereas Patnaik studied in Welham Boys School in Dehradun and then in The Doon School. His classmate was Congress leader and son of Indira Gandhi, Sanjay Gandhi, and he was Rajiv Gandhi’s junior. He also went abroad for studies.
During his tenure as Chief Minister, Patnaik could not meet common people, and thus, took all state decisions after discussions with top bureaucrats. He always said the 4.5 crore population of Odisha is his family, and focused on popular and flagship programmes. He was the chief minister of Odisha for the last 24 years.
Mohan Majhi, who is a four-time MLA, and won from Keonjhar by over 11,000 votes in 2024 election, went to his village after he became the CM. He said, “I am not like former CM Naveen Patnaik. I am always keen to meet common people. I like to meet and hear the problem of people wherever I go”.
After taking charge as chief minister, Majhi directly went interacting with people in several places in Odisha and heard their problems.
Though Naveen Patnaik has taken his father’s legacy forward and made his mark in the BJD, Majhi started his political journey as the Sarpanch of his village from BJP. He became a BJP member and then an MLA from Keonjhar from 2000 to 2009. He won the same place in the 2019 elections. He was a teacher in Saraswati Sishu Mandir in Keonjhar’s Jhumpura area before entering politics.
He became BJP’s Deputy Chief Whip in 2005. Majhi has also been a member of the SC/ST Standing Committee, formed under the Orissa Reservation of Vacancies in Posts and Services (for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) Act. He became the Chief Whip of the BJP in the previous term of the state assembly. But no one had imagined that he will be declared the CM of Odisha by the BJP.
Majhi was once suspended from the Odisha Assembly after he allegedly threw uncooked dal at the Speaker in 2023 as a protest against an alleged Rs 700 crore pulse scam. He, however, denied incident, but claimed that he presented it as a protest.
Despite different backgrounds, both the leaders have carved a niche in their own way. With big shoes to fill, Majhi will definitely face comparison with his predecessor Naveen Patnaik. How Majhi takes Odisha forward will definitely be keenly watched.
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