Bhubaneswar, Jan 3 (FN Bureau) Dr Hari Babu Kambhampati was sworn in as the Governor of Odisha on Friday during a special function held at the Raj Bhavan. Chief Justice of the Orissa High Court, Chakradhari Sharan Singh, administered the oath of office. The event was attended by Chief Minister Mohan Majhi, members of his council of ministers, Leader of the Opposition Naveen Patnaik, BJP State President Manmohan Samal, State Chief Secretary Manoj Ahuja, DGP Yogesh Bahadur Khurani, and several other dignitaries.Dr. Kambhampati, who arrived in Bhubaneswar on Thursday, visited Puri with his family, offered prayers to Lord Jagannath and his siblings at the Sri Jagannath Temple, and stayed overnight at the Puri Raj Bhavan.After being sworn in as the 27th Governor of Odisha, Dr. Kambhampati inspected a guard of honor at the Raj Bhavan. He holds a B.Tech in Electronics & Communication Engineering, an M.E. in Electrical & Control Systems, and a Ph.D. in Control Systems, all from Andhra University. Dr. Kambhampati worked as an Associate Professor at Andhra University Engineering College for 24 years.
Dr. Kambhampati’s political career began during his student years when he participated in the Jai Andhra movement supporting the creation of Andhra state. As a student leader, he worked alongside notable leaders such as Tenneti Viswanadham, Gouthu Latchanna, and Venkaiah Naidu. He also served as Secretary of the Students’ Union at Andhra University Engineering College from 1972 to 1973.From 1974 to 1975, he joined the Lok Sangharsh Samiti agitation led by Jayaprakash Narayan to protest against the Emergency. He was arrested under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) and imprisoned for six months in Visakhapatnam Central Jail and Musheerabad Jail. In 1977, he became a member of the Andhra Pradesh State Executive Committee of the Janata Party and served as Vice President of the Andhra Pradesh State Janata Yuva Morcha in 1978. By the early 1990s, he aligned with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), serving as a member of the Andhra Pradesh State Executive Committee (1991–1993) and General Secretary of the state unit (1993–2003).In 1999, Dr. Kambhampati was elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly from the Visakhapatnam-I Assembly constituency and became the floor leader of the Bharatiya Janata Legislature Party in Andhra Pradesh in 2003. In March 2014, he was elected as President of the BJP state unit and won the 2014 General election from the Visakhapatnam Lok Sabha constituency as a BJP candidate. On July 19, 2021, Dr. Kambhampati was appointed as the Governor of Mizoram. Later, on December 26, 2024, he was appointed as the Governor of Odisha.