A man from Odisha who had gone to the US 20 years ago with just $50 in his pocket to seek a better life for himself and his family is a Democratic Party candidate for Georgia state Senate elections on Tuesday.

Georgia-based Bikram Kumar Mohanty is in the race for the second time for the 8th District State Senate seat. He had unsuccessfully contested the 2012 election from the same party.

Mohanty is an occupational therapist.

A native of Chandabali in Odisha’s Bhadrak district, he had migrated to US after completing his graduation from Kolkata-based National Institute of Orthopedics in 1994 and settled in Valdosta, Georgia. He worked in several hospitals and nursing homes across Georgia until 2001, when he opened up his own occupational therapy practice.

“When I landed in Valdosta, I had only $50 on my person and can proudly report that in the past decade as the founder and CEO of Innovative Rehab Solutions, I’ve generated between 15-45 full time jobs and have held these jobs with the mindset of reconciliation along with the spirit of achieving the American dream while helping others to do the same,” Mohanty says on his website.

His younger brother, Biseswar, attributed his success to his passion for work in public interest.

“Serving public interest has been his passion. As a high school student, he was organizing service camps for the poor with help of a local physician. He was also raising funds for villagers who couldn’t pay for their medicine at that age,” told Biseswar said.

“Bikram along with some people had gone to the White House to submit a memorandum regarding health issues in his area in 2009. The positive attitude and leadership quality impressed the leaders of Democratic Party and they decided to field him in 2012 elections and now in 2014,” he said.