Bhubaneswar, Jun 11 (PTI) BJP leader Mohan Charan Majhi became the third tribal chief minister of Odisha after Giridhar Gamang and Hemananda Biswal of the Congress.

Odisha got a tribal chief minister after over 24 years.

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Biswal, the first tribal to be at the helm of Odisha, was the chief minister twice.

The Congress leader was at the top post first for the period between December 7, 1989, to March 5, 1990. He became the CM again on December 6, 1999, while this stint ended on March 5, 2000.

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Biswal was a six-time MLA who also represented Sundergarh Constituency in the Lok Sabha.

In his second stint, Biswal replaced Gamang who was the chief minister from February 17, 1999, to December 6 of the same year.

Gamang was also elected to the Lok Sabha nine times between 1972 and 2004.

Majhi, a tribal BJP leader, was named the chief minister after the party stormed to power defeating the BJD which was ruling the state for 24 years.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)