Rituraj Mohanty. Telegraph picture

Bhubaneswar, Dec. 1: Emerging as the first India’s Raw Star, Rituraj Mohanty of the state credits his success to the people of the country.

Defeating Darshan Raval of Ahmedabad and Mohit Gaur of Jaipur, the Puri boy donned the title today after rendering soulful performances at the show week after week.

“I consider my listeners to be my Almighty, and I have full faith in them. This would not have been possible without their support,” said Mohanty. As a mark of gratitude to his voters, Rituraj kissed the floors of the Raw Star stage after his name was announced as the winner.

Apart from a Maruti Suzuki Swift car and a contract with Star Plus, Rituraj also won a cash prize of Rs 50 lakh.

People across the state celebrated his win by bursting crackers and posting goodwill messages for the star on social networking sites.

Chief minister Naveen Patnaik also congratulated Mohanty and wished him a bright future ahead. A number of cultural personalities also showered their blessings upon the singer.

“He has brought laurels to the state. He is an inspiration to all those young singers, who are struggling to make it big in the musical industry,” said eminent musician Prafulla Kar.

Rituraj is an alumnus of Utkal Sangeet Mahavidyalay that concluded its five-day golden jubilee celebrations yesterday. For the students of the college, there could be no better golden jubilee gift. “We are elated and proud at the same time. His win will help promote our institute,” said Ramanuja Dash, a student of the instrumental music department of the college. The college will felicitate Mohanty once he is in the city.

He travelled to Mumbai in 2011 in search for recognition. From a humble beginning of singing demo versions for the title tracks of serials, the Sufi music lover lent his voice for the Bollywood film Bhootnath Returns and the talk show Satyamev Jayate.

He is eager to meet the people of his state. “I am eagerly waiting to visit my birthplace and thank the people for showering their love on me,” said Rituraj.