Bhubaneswar: Ending his 24 years of stint as the Chief Minister of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik today resigned from the post.

The BJD supremo met Odisha Governor Raghubar Das at the Raj Bhawan here and tendered his resignation as CM.

The BJP has stormed to power in Odisha by winning 78 out of 147 assembly seats in the state. The saffron party is all set to form government in Odisha for the very first time. On the other hand, the BJD managed to secure 51 seats.

Patnaik's 24-year reign is the second longest for a chief minister of any Indian state, after Pawan Kumar Chamling of Sikkim.

He took oath as the CM of Odisha for the first time on 5th of March 2000. The BJD president had previously served as the Union Minister of Steel and Mines from 1998 to 2000 and a member of the Lok Sabha from Aska from 1997 to 2000.

In December of 1997, Patnaik split from the Janata Dal and founded the Biju Janata Dal.

In the 2000 Odisha Assembly elections, the BJD, in alliance with the BJP, secured the majority of seats. Following this, Patnaik resigned from the Union Cabinet and was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Odisha.