Puri, June 23: Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi visited the Jagannath temple here Saturday and said that he offered prayers for the prosperity of the 4.5 crore people of the state.

"Today, on the eve of snana poornima festival, I got darshan of Gajanan Bhesh of Lord Jagannath and got blessed by lord. I have prayed for the prosperity of the 4.5 crore people of Odisha. I also prayed for the welfare of the people and the successful performance of the upcoming Sri Gundicha Ratha yatra to be solemnized soon with the help of all," Odisha CM told reporters.

Earlier June 12, Mohan Charan Majhi took oath as the Chief Minister of the first Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Odisha in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The 52-year-old belonging to the Santali tribe, hails from the state's Keonjhar district.

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

(ANI)

Read more: Odisha news