Biju Janata Dal


The Biju Janata Dal is a state political party of the Indian state of Odisha led by Naveen Patnaik, the current Chief Minister of Odisha and the son of former Chief minister Biju Patnaik, after whom the party was named. It was founded on 26 December 1997.

Electoral record

BJD won nine seats in the 1998 general election and Naveen was named the Minister for Mines. In the 1999 general elections, BJD won 10 seats. The party won a majority of seats in the state legislative assembly in the 2000 and 2004 elections in alliance with BJP. The party won 11 Lok Sabha seats in the 2004 elections.
In the aftermath of Kandhamal Riots, in the 2009 general election the BJD parted ways with the BJP for both the Lok Sabha and Assembly citing communalism and differences in seat sharing. In the 2009 Indian general election, BJD won 14 seats and secured strong 108 legislative seats out of 147 seats in assembly election of 2009. Biju Janata Dal won a huge victory in the 2014 general election securing 20 of the 21 Lok Sabha seats and 117 of 147 Odisha Legislative Assembly seats.

Policies and ideology

BJD claims to be inspired by the philosophy of Biju Patnaik. It does not claim any political ideology. It professes a strong belief in secularism and in the welfare of the poor and vulnerable. Being a regional party development of Odisha is its prime goal. The party has been a consistent opposition to the Indian National Congress. While it was allied with the Bharatiya Janata Party , it broke off the alliance on the issue of secularism.

Rule

stepped down as Minister of Mines and left the Lok Sabha after the BJD-BJP victory in the Legislative Assembly Elections in 2000 and became the Chief Minister of Odisha. Naveen Patnaik won second, third, fourth and fifth terms as Chief Minister of Odisha in 2004, 2009, 2014 and 2019 state elections respectively.

List of Chief Ministers