Bhubaneswar, Oct 31 (IANS): Raghubar Das on Tuesday took oath as the 26th Governor of Odisha in a ceremony held at the Raj Bhavan here.

The acting Chief Justice of Orissa High Court Justice Bidyut Ranjan Sarangi administered the oath of office to Das.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and several other dignitaries were present at the swearing-in ceremony.

He later took guard of honour at the Raj Bhavan after being sworn in as the governor.

Before taking the oath this morning, Das visited the famous Lingaraj temple and paid obeisance to Lord Lingaraj. "I prayed to the lord that the state of Odisha and our country reach new heights of development. The people of Odisha witness prosperity and happiness," he said while speaking to media persons.

Upon his arrival at Puri on Monday, Das had offered prayers to Lord Jagannath.

The veteran BJP leader served as Chief Minister of Jharkhand from 2014 to 2019.

Das, who was named as the new governor of Odisha by President Droupadi Murmu on October 18, had also served as deputy chief minister of Jharkhand.