Putting an end to the weeklong intense suspense, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday sprung a surprise and announced 4-time MLA and party’s tribal face, Mohan Charan Majhi as the chief minister to head its maiden government in Odisha.

The BJP legislative party, which met at the party office in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday, unanimously voted in favour of Majhi, Union Minister Rajnath Singh who attended the meeting announced here.

Senior MLA K V Singh Deo, who comes from the erstwhile royal family of Patnagarh, and Pravati Parida, first-time MLA from coastal Nimapara assembly seat, have been made deputy chief ministers.

Fifty-two-year old Majhi, a four-time MLA from Keonjhar seat, was a strong tribal face of the party. His debating skills in the Assembly had put the outgoing BJD government on the back foot.

Though several names did the rounds, the legislative party opted in favour of Majhi and the central observers accorded seal of approval to the unanimous decision of the newly-elected MLAs.

Union ministers Rajnath Singh and Bhupender Yadav oversaw the process as the party’s central observers.

The party MLAs will meet Governor Raghubar Das later today to stake claim to form the government.

The BJP ended the 24-year-old long fairytale stint of Naveen Patnaik as the head of the BJD Government in Odisha by securing 78 seats in 147-member House while BJD and Congress won 51 and 14 seats respectively. The CPM won one seat, and three MLAs are Independents.

The Independent candidates, who were rebels of the saffron party, have in the meanwhile announced their decision to support the new BJP Government.

Therefore in the 147-member Assembly, the BJP has the strength of 81 MLAs, 7 more than the majority.

The saffron party emerged victorious in the Assembly polls without projecting a chief ministerial face. The party, banking on PM Narendra Modi’s charisma and whirlwind campaign, got the better of the regional party. The ruling BJD faced a strong anti-incumbency factor coupled with widespread anger against the dominance of former bureaucrat VK Pandian in governance and that acted to the added advantage of the BJP.

Majhi, chief minister in the maiden BJP Government in Odisha, will be sworn in on 12 June in a colourful function at the Janata Maidan in Bhubaneswar. Prime Minister Modi besides several of his senior ministerial colleagues, chief ministers of BJP-ruled States, will also attend the event. The party has also invited former Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for the swearing-in ceremony of the new Chief Minister.