The current Chief Minister of Odisha is Mohan Charan Majhi of the Bharatiya Janata Party, who was sworn in on 12 June 2024 after the BJP won 78 of the 147 assembly seats in that year’s election. He is the state’s 15th Chief Minister, and the first person from the Santhal community to hold the office.
Odisha has one of the oldest continuous lines of elected heads of government in India. Counting from Harekrushna Mahatab in 1946, fifteen individuals have led the state — a small number for eighty years, because two of them, Janaki Ballabh Patnaik and Naveen Patnaik, between them account for well over half the period. The office has also been vacant six times under President’s Rule, and those gaps are the detail most lists get wrong.
How the Office Works in Odisha
The Chief Minister is the real head of the state executive. Article 164 of the Constitution says the Governor appoints the Chief Minister, and that the other ministers are appointed by the Governor on the Chief Minister’s advice. The Governor is the constitutional head; the working authority sits with the Chief Minister and the council of ministers.
The appointment is not a free choice. By convention the Governor calls the leader of the party or coalition that can command a majority in the Odisha Legislative Assembly — a 147-member house elected for five years. The council of ministers is collectively responsible to that assembly, so a Chief Minister stays in office only as long as the house has confidence in the government.
There is no term limit. A Chief Minister can be re-appointed indefinitely, which is exactly what happened between 2000 and 2024. And when no government can command a majority, or the constitutional machinery breaks down, Article 356 allows President’s Rule — the council of ministers is dissolved, the Chief Minister’s office falls vacant, and the Governor administers the state on the Union government’s behalf.
One naming point worth fixing before the table: the state was officially called Orissa until 1 November 2011, when the Orissa (Alteration of Name) Act renamed it Odisha. Everyone before that date technically held the title Chief Minister of Orissa.
Complete List of Chief Ministers of Odisha
The list below starts on 23 April 1946, when Harekrushna Mahatab took charge of the provincial government. His title was Premier (or Prime Minister) of Orissa until the Constitution came into force on 26 January 1950, after which the post became Chief Minister and he simply continued. Three men held the premiership before him between 1937 and 1944 — Krushna Chandra Gajapati, Bishwanath Das and Gajapati again — but those were pre-independence provincial ministries under the Government of India Act, 1935, and standard listings of Odisha’s Chief Ministers do not number them.
| # | Name | Term Start | Term End | Party | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Harekrushna Mahatab | 23 April 1946 | 12 May 1950 | Indian National Congress | Premier of Orissa until 26 January 1950, then Chief Minister |
| 2 | Nabakrushna Choudhuri | 12 May 1950 | 19 October 1956 | Indian National Congress | Continued after the 1952 election |
| (1) | Harekrushna Mahatab | 19 October 1956 | 25 February 1961 | Indian National Congress | Second stint; continued after the 1957 election |
| — | President’s Rule | 25 February 1961 | 23 June 1961 | — | Office vacant; assembly dissolved |
| 3 | Biju Patnaik | 23 June 1961 | 2 October 1963 | Indian National Congress | Followed the 1961 election |
| 4 | Biren Mitra | 2 October 1963 | 21 February 1965 | Indian National Congress | |
| 5 | Sadashiva Tripathy | 21 February 1965 | 8 March 1967 | Indian National Congress | |
| 6 | Rajendra Narayan Singh Deo | 8 March 1967 | 9 January 1971 | Swatantra Party | First non-Congress Chief Minister |
| — | President’s Rule | 9 January 1971 | 3 April 1971 | — | Office vacant; assembly dissolved |
| 7 | Bishwanath Das | 3 April 1971 | 14 June 1972 | Independent | Earlier Premier of Orissa, 1937-39 |
| 8 | Nandini Satpathy | 14 June 1972 | 3 March 1973 | Indian National Congress | First woman Chief Minister of Odisha |
| — | President’s Rule | 3 March 1973 | 6 March 1974 | — | Office vacant; longest single spell |
| (8) | Nandini Satpathy | 6 March 1974 | 16 December 1976 | Indian National Congress | Second stint |
| — | President’s Rule | 16 December 1976 | 29 December 1976 | — | Office vacant; shortest spell, 13 days |
| 9 | Binayak Acharya | 29 December 1976 | 30 April 1977 | Indian National Congress | |
| — | President’s Rule | 30 April 1977 | 26 June 1977 | — | Office vacant; assembly dissolved |
| 10 | Nilamani Routray | 26 June 1977 | 17 February 1980 | Janata Party | |
| — | President’s Rule | 17 February 1980 | 9 June 1980 | — | Office vacant; assembly dissolved |
| 11 | Janaki Ballabh Patnaik | 9 June 1980 | 7 December 1989 | Indian National Congress | Two assemblies, 1980 and 1985 |
| 12 | Hemananda Biswal | 7 December 1989 | 5 March 1990 | Indian National Congress | |
| (3) | Biju Patnaik | 5 March 1990 | 15 March 1995 | Janata Dal | Second stint, now outside Congress |
| (11) | Janaki Ballabh Patnaik | 15 March 1995 | 17 February 1999 | Indian National Congress | Third ministry |
| 13 | Giridhar Gamang | 17 February 1999 | 6 December 1999 | Indian National Congress | |
| (12) | Hemananda Biswal | 6 December 1999 | 5 March 2000 | Indian National Congress | Second stint |
| 14 | Naveen Patnaik | 5 March 2000 | 12 June 2024 | Biju Janata Dal | Five consecutive ministries, 2000-2024 |
| 15 | Mohan Charan Majhi | 12 June 2024 | Incumbent | Bharatiya Janata Party | First BJP Chief Minister of Odisha |
Read the numbering carefully. There have been fifteen individuals but twenty separate stints, because five people — Mahatab, Biju Patnaik, Nandini Satpathy, Janaki Ballabh Patnaik and Hemananda Biswal — returned after a break. Numbers in brackets mark those returns, which is the convention official listings use.
The six President’s Rule rows are not filler. They cover roughly two years and three months in total, they cluster tightly in the 1961-1980 window, and Odisha has not seen a single spell since June 1980. That is a sharper break than most states can show.
Longest-Serving and Most Notable Chief Ministers
Naveen Patnaik is the answer to almost every Odisha record question. He held office from 5 March 2000 to 12 June 2024 — 24 years and 99 days, unbroken, across five ministries and five assembly elections. Among Indian Chief Ministers, only Sikkim’s Pawan Kumar Chamling has served a longer continuous stretch. Naveen took over the Biju Janata Dal after his father’s death in 1997, won five elections in a row, and left office in 2024 without ever having lost one until that final contest.
Janaki Ballabh Patnaik is second, with about 13 years and 155 days across three ministries between 1980 and 1999. Biju Patnaik, the elder of the two Patnaiks, is third at roughly 7 years and 111 days, split across two very different stints — Congress in the early 1960s, Janata Dal in the 1990s.
Harekrushna Mahatab is the foundational figure. He led the provincial government from 1946, steered the merger of Odisha’s princely states into the new state, became its first Chief Minister when the Constitution came into force, and returned for a second stint from 1956 to 1961. Odisha’s modern administrative shape is largely his work.
Nandini Satpathy is the state’s only woman Chief Minister so far. She took office in June 1972 and served two stints until December 1976, a period that ran straight through the Emergency. She had been a Union minister before that, and returned to writing and public life afterwards.
Rajendra Narayan Singh Deo matters for a different reason. The former ruler of Patna State led the Swatantra Party to power in 1967 and became Odisha’s first non-Congress Chief Minister, ending twenty-one years of unbroken Congress government and opening the door to the coalition politics that followed.
And Mohan Charan Majhi’s 2024 arrival is a genuine break. He is a four-term MLA from Keonjhar, a Santhal tribal leader, and the first Chief Minister the Bharatiya Janata Party has produced in a state where it had never previously formed a government on its own.
How Power Has Shifted: Party Trends in Odisha
Odisha’s politics divides cleanly into three long eras. From 1946 to 1967 the Congress governed almost without interruption. From 1967 to 2000 the state swung — Swatantra, Janata Party, Janata Dal and Congress traded office, with President’s Rule filling several of the gaps. From 2000 to 2024 the Biju Janata Dal held power outright, and since 2024 the BJP has.
| Party | Chief Ministers | Approximate Share of Time in Office |
|---|---|---|
| Indian National Congress | 10 (across 13 stints) | Just under half the period since 1950 |
| Biju Janata Dal | 1 | About 30 per cent |
| Janata Dal | 1 | About 6 per cent |
| Swatantra Party | 1 | About 5 per cent |
| Janata Party | 1 | About 3 per cent |
| Bharatiya Janata Party | 1 | About 2 per cent and rising |
| Independent | 1 | About 1.5 per cent |
| President’s Rule | — | About 2.5 per cent |
Two shifts explain the shape of that table. The first came in 1997, when Naveen Patnaik founded the Biju Janata Dal out of the Janata Dal’s Odisha unit. The BJD allied with the BJP to take power in 2000, governed with it until 2009, then broke the alliance and won three more elections on its own — an unusually successful piece of regional party-building.
The second came in 2024, when the BJD lost both the assembly and most of its Lok Sabha seats in the same cycle. The BJP, which had spent two decades as junior partner and then opposition, formed its first government in the state. Congress, the party that ruled Odisha for its first two decades, has now been out of office since 2000.
Records and Quick Facts
First Chief Minister: Harekrushna Mahatab, in office from 23 April 1946 as Premier and from 26 January 1950 as Chief Minister.
Current Chief Minister: Mohan Charan Majhi, sworn in 12 June 2024, the 15th holder of the office.
Longest serving: Naveen Patnaik, 24 years and 99 days in one unbroken run.
Shortest single stint: Hemananda Biswal’s second term, 6 December 1999 to 5 March 2000 — 90 days.
Shortest total tenure: Binayak Acharya, 122 days across his single stint in 1976-77.
Only woman Chief Minister: Nandini Satpathy.
Individuals versus stints: 15 people, 20 separate stints. Five leaders returned after a break.
President’s Rule spells: six — 1961, 1971, 1973-74, December 1976, 1977 and 1980. The longest ran a year and three days from March 1973; the shortest lasted 13 days. None since 9 June 1980.
Name change: Orissa became Odisha on 1 November 2011, so every Chief Minister before that date held the title Chief Minister of Orissa.
Father and son: Biju Patnaik and Naveen Patnaik are the state’s only father-son pair to have held the office.
FAQ
Who is the current Chief Minister of Odisha? Mohan Charan Majhi of the Bharatiya Janata Party, in office since 12 June 2024. He represents the Keonjhar constituency and is the 15th Chief Minister of the state.
Who was the first Chief Minister of Odisha? Harekrushna Mahatab. He headed the provincial government from 23 April 1946 with the title Premier, and continued as Chief Minister when the Constitution came into force on 26 January 1950.
Who served the longest as Chief Minister of Odisha? Naveen Patnaik, from 5 March 2000 to 12 June 2024 — 24 years and 99 days without a break, across five ministries.
How many Chief Ministers has Odisha had? Fifteen individuals since 1946. They account for twenty separate stints, because five of them returned to office after an interval.
How is the Chief Minister of Odisha appointed? Under Article 164, the Governor appoints the Chief Minister. By convention the Governor invites the leader who can command a majority in the 147-member Odisha Legislative Assembly, and that person stays in office only while the house retains confidence in the government.
Practice Questions
Practice MCQs
- Who is the Chief Minister of Odisha as of 2026? (a) Naveen Patnaik (b) Mohan Charan Majhi (c) Hemananda Biswal (d) Giridhar Gamang — Answer: (b) Mohan Charan Majhi of the BJP took office on 12 June 2024.
- Who was the first Chief Minister of Odisha? (a) Nabakrushna Choudhuri (b) Biju Patnaik (c) Harekrushna Mahatab (d) Bishwanath Das — Answer: (c) Mahatab led the government from 1946 and became Chief Minister in January 1950.
- Naveen Patnaik’s unbroken tenure as Chief Minister of Odisha lasted approximately how long? (a) 15 years (b) 20 years (c) 24 years (d) 28 years — Answer: (c) He served 24 years and 99 days, from March 2000 to June 2024.
- Who was the only woman to serve as Chief Minister of Odisha? (a) Nandini Satpathy (b) Sucheta Kripalani (c) Pramila Bohidari (d) Sarojini Naidu — Answer: (a) Nandini Satpathy held the office in two stints between 1972 and 1976.
- Which article of the Constitution provides for the appointment of the Chief Minister by the Governor? (a) Article 154 (b) Article 163 (c) Article 164 (d) Article 356 — Answer: (c) Article 164 covers the appointment of the Chief Minister and other ministers.
Tell Google you want more of this.
Add Anantam IAS as a preferred sourceOne tap, and this site shows up more often in your own Top Stories, AI Overviews and AI Mode. Remove it any time.
