Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) leader Mohan Charan Majhi will be the new chief minister of Odisha. He was elected leader of the BJP legislature party in Odisha at a meeting held on Tuesday.

The decision was announced by defence minister Rajnath Singh after the meeting of the party’s newly elected MLAs.

The 52-year-old leader, a four-time MLA, is a prominent tribal face in the coastal state. He will have two deputies- Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo and Pravati Parida.

The BJP will form its first government in Odisha after securing 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.

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