June 4th 2024.
The recent elections in Bhubaneswar, Odisha have caused quite a stir as the ruling Biju Janata Dal, led by Naveen Patnaik, faced a major setback. Despite ruling the state for a consecutive fifth term, the party was unable to secure a win as the Opposition BJP rode on the wave of popularity surrounding Prime Minister Modi. The BJP not only claimed victory in the state assembly elections, but also swept the Lok Sabha elections, with their candidates leading by a significant margin in 19 out of 21 seats.
Even the BJD, which had secured 12 Lok Sabha seats in the previous election, only managed to lead in the Jajpur constituency, where the current MP Sarmistha Sethi is ahead of her opponent, BJP candidate Rabindra Behera, by a mere 4,525 votes. Meanwhile, it seems that Congress-sitting MP Saptagiri Ulaka will retain the Koraput Lok Sabha seat with a comfortable lead of 1,28,517 votes over BJD candidate Kausalya Hikaka.
The majority of BJP candidates are leading by a significant margin against their BJD rivals, with three BJD sitting MPs – Achyuta Samanta, Rajashree Mallick, and Manjulata Mandal – admitting defeat at the hands of BJP candidates. Even prominent BJD leaders such as Finance Minister Bikram Keshari Arukha, Science Technology Minister Ashok Panda, Commerce and Transport Minister Tukuni Sahu, Forest and Environment Minister Pradip Amat, Higher Education and Food Supply and Consumer Affairs Minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak, ST and SC Development Minister Jagannath Saraka, Women and Child Development Minister Basanti Hembram, and Handloom and Textile Minister Rita Sahu were unable to secure a win in their respective constituencies.
On the other hand, BJP heavyweight Dilip Ray was defeated by Labour Minister Sarada Prasad Nayak in the Rourkela Assembly seat, while Odisha Congress President Sarat Pattnayak lost to Planning and Convergence Minister Rajendra Dholakia in the Nuapada Assembly seat.
The BJD's stronghold in coastal Odisha, which they have maintained for the past two decades, was also challenged by the BJP in this election. Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and BJP national Vice President Baijayant Panda expressed their gratitude to the people of Odisha for trusting Modi's call for a change in government.
During his election rallies, Prime Minister Modi appealed to the people of the state to give the BJP a chance to lead, promising that Odisha would become the number one state in the country. He even went as far as to say that the BJD government's "expiry date" would be on June 4 and that Naveen Patnaik would become the former Chief Minister. The Prime Minister also stated that a new BJP Chief Minister would be sworn in on June 10 in Bhubaneswar and invited everyone to attend the ceremony.
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