Tusharkanti Behera

Hon’ble Minister of State for Electronics & IT, Sports & Youth Services and Home, Government of Odisha

Mr Tusharkanti Behera hails from Puri, Odisha. He holds a bachelor’s and a Master’s in Bio Technology Engineering from IIT Kharagpur. Prior to entering politics, Mr Behera worked as an assistant professor in the department of Civil Engineering , Centurion University Of Technology & Management and HOD in the department of Bio Technology Engineering, Eastern Academy of Science & Technology under BPUT, Bhubaneshwar. During his time at IIT Kharagpur, he co-founded the KGP cyber league (a cyber gaming community of more than 300 members) and worked as general secretary of Kalinga Samaj (a odia community of more than 500 members at IIT).

In 2014, he contested the assembly election from Kakatpur constituency. He also served as a member of the State Executive Committee of a major national party. In that capacity, he led a team of 150 influencers, including 20 core team members, during the 2014 assembly election and 2017 three-tier panchayat election.

In 2019, contesting from Hon’ble Chief Minister Shri Naveen Patnaik’s party Biju Janata Dal (BJD), he won the assembly election from Kakatpur constituency and became the MLA. Thereafter Mr Behera was inducted into the State Government and appointed Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Electronics & IT and Sports & Youth services. Recently, he was also inducted as Minister of State in the Home Department, Government of Odisha. Under his leadership, his portfolio departments have witnessed significant transformation and timely execution of projects.

As a quintessential development-focused individual, he aspires to play a leading role in the development of Odisha as an IT and a sports hub.