NEW DELHI: Following a significant defeat in the state assembly and parliamentary elections, Naveen Patnaik’s 24-year tenure as Odisha Chief Minister and BJD chief has come to an end. On Wednesday, Patnaik tendered his resignation to Odisha Governor Raghubar Das at the Raj Bhavan in Bhubaneswar.

The Biju Janata Dal (BJD), which has ruled Odisha since 1997, lost to the BJP, concluding Naveen Patnaik’s lengthy tenure as chief minister. In the 147-seat assembly, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 78 seats, whereas the BJD secured 51 seats, significantly below the 74-seat majority required. The Indian National Congress managed to win just 14 seats, CPI (M) won one seat, and three Independent candidates also emerged victorious.

Chief Minister of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik (Photo: X)

 

In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP demonstrated strong performance in Odisha, capturing 20 out of the state’s 21 parliamentary seats, with the Congress winning the remaining seat.

Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik Resigns after 24 years: From Political Novice to Second Longest-Serving Chief Minister

Naveen Patnaik’s unexpected entry into state politics came through the BJD, a party named after his father, former Odisha CM Biju Patnaik. His political journey began with a victory in the 1998 Lok Sabha bypoll, representing his father’s constituency, Aska. After the BJD’s success in the 2000 Assembly elections, where they formed a coalition with the BJP and secured a majority, Patnaik resigned from his position in the Union cabinet to assume the role of Chief Minister.

Since then, Patnaik had been the second longest-serving chief minister in India, after former Sikkim CM Pawan Kumar Chamling.
Patnaik had for the first time taken oath as the chief minister of Odisha on March 5, 2000.

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