Odisha CM-designate Mohan Charan Majhi: A 4-time MLA who once slept on footpaths
Bhubaneswar: Odisha's Chief Minister-designate Mohan Charan Majhi hails from a diverse background including farming, teaching, and activism. The 52-year-old is set to become the first-time BJP Chief Minister of the eastern state.
Majhi, a four-time MLA from Keonjhar, has a long history of activism, including advocating for tribal rights and combating the mining mafia.
The four-time Keonjhar MLA shares his Santhal roots with India's first Adivasi President Droupadi Murmu. His selection as Chief Minister is seen by many as a strategic move by the BJP, especially in light of the upcoming elections in Jharkhand, where tribal representation holds significant sway.
Raised in Keonjhar South, Majh's journey to politics began with his involvement in student activism. He studied law and taught for a while at RSS-run Saraswati Shisu Vidya Mandir before plunging into politics as an elected sarpanch from 1997 to 2000, when he became MLA for the first time.
As secretary of BJP's Adivasi Morcha, Majhi quickly hit his straps and worked his way up the party ranks to become its chief whip in 2019. He previously had a stint as deputy chief whip when BJP was part of a coalition with BJD from 2005 to 2009.
On his return as Keonjhar MLA in 2019 after a decade since his last electoral victory in 2004, Majhi made headlines when he spoke in the assembly about being forced to spend several nights on a footpath due to delay in allotment of a govt quarter to him. Majhi told the then assembly speaker, S N Patro, that he couldn't rent a house at short notice, and his mobile phone was stolen while he was asleep in the open.
Now the administration is busy in finding a bungalow for the designated CM as former CM Naveen Patnaik has been staying in a private house for the past 24 years.
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Jaishankar meets European, UK, Egyptian counterparts at UAE summit
Dubai (PTI): External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has met with his counterparts from Europe, the UK and Egypt on the sidelines of a high-level international summit in the United Arab Emirates, where leaders and policymakers gathered to discuss key geopolitical and security challenges.
In a social media post on Saturday, Jaishankar said "it was great to be" with Luxembourg's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Xavier Bettel, Poland’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, and Latvia’s Foreign Minister Baiba Braze.
The minister was in the UAE capital Abu Dhabi to attend the three-day Sir Bani Yas Forum 2025, which concluded on Sunday.
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Jaishankar also met UK Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy on the sidelines of the summit.
"Good to see UK DPM @DavidLammy on the sidelines of Sir Bani Yas Forum 2025," he said in another social media post.
In another meeting, the External Affairs Minister said it was “nice to catch up” with Egypt’s Foreign Minister Dr Badr Abdelatty.
Sir Bani Yas Forum is an annual platform that brings together global leaders, ministers and experts to deliberate on regional and international issues.
