BJP’s Mohan Charan Majhi is new Odisha CM. But where will he stay?

House hunting is never a piece of cake, be it for common folks or a chief minister. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which stormed to power in Odisha, has ended suspense on its new CM by announcing the name of Mohan Charan Majhi. But it needs to find a residence for the leader to dwell in.

The saffron party wrested Naveen Patnaik’s Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in the recent elections, ending the 77-year-old’s 24-year reign in Odisha. The BJP clinched 78 of the 147 Assembly seats, while the BJD was reduced to 51. The Congress got 14, Independents three and one was won by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPI(M).

The BJP swept the Lok Sabha polls, winning 20 of the 21 seats. The Congress bagged the remaining one seat, while Patnaik’s party drew a blank.

After the results, Patnaik resigned as the chief minister, paving the way for the formation of a BJP government. As Majhi becomes BJP’s first CM in Odisha, where will he stay? Is there no official CM residence?

Naveen and his Niwas

Naveen Patnaik took over the reins of Odisha as its CM in 2000. At the time, the BJD chief decided to work from his personal home, Naveen Niwas, which effectively served as the Chief Minister’s residence during his tenure.

Patnaik did not opt for a government-allocated house, creating “a unique precedent in the state’s political history,” as per Moneycontrol.

He carried out all official and administrative work from Naveen Niwas, a grand mansion built by his late father and former Odisha CM Biju Patnaik.

As per an NDTV report, the Patnaik family’s original bungalow is in Cuttack, where Naveen and his siblings Prem and Gita were born.

Known as Anand Bhavan, a caretaker has been managing the bungalow for the last five decades. This happened after Biju Patnaik moved to Odisha’s capital Bhubaneswar after the construction of Naveen Niwas, the report added.

The Cuttack bungalow now serves as a museum.

Dwellings of CMs before Naveen Patnaik

Before Naveen Patnaik came to power, where did other CMs stay?

Well, former chief ministers including Giridhar Gamang and Janaki Ballabh (JB) Patnaik used to reside in a government quarter situated on the stretch between Raj Bhavan and AG Square, as per Times of India (TOI).

After Congress’ JB Patnaik returned as CM in 1995, the Chief Minister’s Office was moved to a two-storeyed building. The structure also acted as Gamang’s official residence, as per NDTV.

“Many states have exclusive official residence for their CMs. The house where we lived during my father’s tenure as chief minister was not the official residence of the CM. The house had undergone renovation during JB Patnaik’s tenure,” Shishir Gamang, son of former CM Giridhar, told TOI.

The building was later converted into the Chief Minister’s Grievance Cell by Naveen Patnaik.

The hunt for CM residence

Authorities have started scouting places that can serve as Odisha CM’s official residence.

“The general administration department has begun the exercise to look for an appropriate and sprawling quarter for the new chief minister’s residence. A few vacant quarters including the CM’s grievance cell have been shortlisted. After selection of the quarter, immediate renovation and installation of facilities will be done. But it will take some time,” a senior government official told TOI.

For now, the administration has decided to prepare a suite in the state guest house for Odisha’s new chief minister. It will be a temporary stay until they can zero in on a suitable residence.

Odisha CM’s swear-in ceremony

Mohan Majhi , a four-time MLA from Keonjhar, will take the oath of office on 12 June. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will arrive in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday to attend the oath-taking ceremony of the new Odisha government at 5 pm at Janata Maidan.

Manjhi is the BJP’s tribal face in Odisha. Before he was declared the CM face in the BJP legislature party meeting in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday, the names of Manmohan Samal, Suresh Pujari, Girish Murm and Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo were doing rounds.

However, KV Singh Deo has been made a deputy CM, along with Pravati Parida.

With inputs from agencies