Naveen Patnaik's 24-Year Reign Ends As BJP Sweeps Odisha Elections

In a dramatic turn of events, Naveen Patnaik's 24-year tenure as Odisha's chief minister concluded on Wednesday, marking the end of an era in the state's politics. Patnaik, who first assumed office on March 5, 2000, tendered his resignation today, following his party's decisive defeat in the state assembly elections.

The Bharatiya Janata Party ended the Biju Janata Dal's longstanding dominance, securing 78 out of the state's 147 assembly seats and claiming 20 out of 21 Lok Sabha seats. The BJD, left with just 51 assembly seats and facing a complete wipeout in the Lok Sabha polls, is now grappling with its most significant setback in decades.

This electoral loss also thwarted Patnaik's chance to become India's longest-serving chief minister, missing the record set by former Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling by just 74 days.

This shift in Odisha politics comes even as the BJP-led NDA experienced a setback at the national level, with its overall tally in the Lok Sabha elections in 2024 falling short of exit poll projections. However, a strong performance in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh provided a silver lining for the alliance.

Patnaik’s departure from office, a once unthinkable scenario, underscores a significant shift in Odisha's political landscape, bringing an end to a reign that has spanned nearly a quarter century.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik's health was one of the most talked-about topics that was highlighted by the BJP throughout the campaign. Along with that, Odisha witnessed intense campaigning from the BJP's high-profile leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, JP Nadda, Nitin Gadkari and Smriti Irani, among others, while the BJD's campaigning was confined to just Patnaik and VK Pandian, a bureaucrat-turned-politician and close aide of Patnaik.

Lord Jagannath's Ratna Bhandar's missing key was another issue raised by the BJP during its poll campaign, where they alleged that Patnaik was 'outsourcing' the government and the party.

BJP National Vice President Baijayant Panda claimed that casting a vote for BJD would effectively empower Pandian, according to a PTI report.

Patnaik experienced his first electoral defeat ever, losing by 16,344 votes to Laxman Bag of the BJP in Kantabanji. In Hinjili, the constituency he also ran in, the BJD leader secured victory by only 4,636 votes, marking his narrowest win to date.

The loss of Patnaik begins a new era of politics for Odisha, with the BJP forming the first government in the state's history. Despite being in a coalition with the BJD and holding power from 2000 to 2009, the alliance fell apart before the 2009 national elections.

The BJP has been competing against the BJD without achieving significant success until 2024. Before the 2024 elections, there was an unsuccessful effort to negotiate seat sharing between the BJD and the BJP.

In 2019, the party led by Patnaik secured victory in 112 seats in the Assembly (out of 146 that participated in the election, with one seat having its election cancelled), a decrease of five from the previous elections. In contrast, the BJP saw a rise in its count to 23 seats, up from 10 in 2014.