Former Jharkhand chief minister Raghubar Das on Tuesday took oath as the 26th Governor of Odisha.
Chief Justice of Orissa high court Dr Bidyut Ranjan Sarangi administered the oath of office during a special ceremony held at Raj Bhavan. Das replaces Ganeshi Lal who completed his five-year tenure in May this year.
Before taking the oath, Das visited the Lingaraj temple in Bhubaneswar and performed puja.
Earlier on Monday, Das had visited the Jagannath temple in Puri. “Lord Jagannath has brought me to Odisha to serve the people. I want to assure you that the doors of Raj Bhavan will remain open for the people of Odisha all the time,” he said.
Prior to this appointment, he was the national vice president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He was also the first non-tribal CM of Jharkhand, from 2014 to 2019.
Das, who started his political career as a youth leader during the student movement launched by Loknayak Jaiprakash Narayan in 1976-77, joined the Janata Party in 1977. He initially worked as a ‘mazdoor’ (labourer) at the Rolling Mill of Tata Steel.
He joined the BJP in 1980 soon after its launch. He gradually rose through the ranks before being nominated as a party candidate from Jamshedpur (East) in the 1995 assembly elections. Das went on to win the seat five times from 1995 to 2019. In 2004, Das was appointed as BJP state president of the newly carved state of Jharkhand.
{{/usCountry}}He joined the BJP in 1980 soon after its launch. He gradually rose through the ranks before being nominated as a party candidate from Jamshedpur (East) in the 1995 assembly elections. Das went on to win the seat five times from 1995 to 2019. In 2004, Das was appointed as BJP state president of the newly carved state of Jharkhand.
{{/usCountry}}He became a minister of the new state for the first time in the Babulal Marandi government. Das also got a place in two subsequent governments led by Arjun Munda and was sworn in as deputy chief minister in the Shibu Soren-led government in 2009.