The political landscape in Odisha underwent a massive change in 2024. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came victorious in the Assembly polls by defeating the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) of Naveen Patnaik, a leader who had not tasted defeat since his political debut in 1997. Two-time Prime Minister Narendra Modi scripted history as the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) formed government at the Centre for the third consecutive term. The Congress party improved its Lok Sabha tally but the number is not enough to propel it to the treasury benches at the Parliament.

Odisha

The voters of Odisha preferred the BJP by rejecting the BJD bid to form government for the sixth time in a row. The saffron party defeated the regional party in the Assembly as well as in the Lok Sabha polls in the state. The BJP leadership decided to go solo in the twin polls amid reports that the party would enter into an alliance with the BJD. The Congress party performed badly in the elections and remained as a marginal force in the state.    

BJP forms maiden government

The BJP came to power in Odisha on its own in the 2024 Assembly polls by securing victory in at least 78 seats of the total 147. The party performed well in the polls by focusing on Odia Ashmita (pride) and promising certain populist schemes including Subhadra Yojana for women and enhanced paddy MSP. Besides, it capitalized on the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and some of the pro-people initiatives of the Union Government to attract the voters. The saffron party was the junior partner in the BJD-BJP coalition government in the state from 2000 to 2009.

BJD rule ends, Naveen faces defeat

The BJD rule in Odisha came to an end in the 2024 elections as the party won just 51 Assembly seats. The Naveen Patnaik-led party, which had ruled the state uninterruptedly from 2000 to 2024, was defeated by the BJP and forced to sit at the Opposition. Naveen’s dream of becoming the longest serving Chief Minister in the country was shattered as the regional party lost its winning streak. The five-time former Chief Minister lost the Assembly polls from Kantabanji, his second seat. However, the BJD chief became the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Odisha Assembly by securing victory from his traditional Hinjili seat. Many political analysts blamed Naveen’s overdependence on his trusted aide and bureaucrat-turned-politician VK Pandian for party’s poll debacle. 

BJP wins 20 Lok Sabha seats

The BJP consolidated its position in the state as the candidates of the party got elected from 20 Lok Sabha seats of the total 21 in Odisha in 2024 elections. The Congress party retained its lone seat as Saptagiri Ulaka got re-elected from Koraput segment. However, the BJD could not open its account in the Lok Sabha polls. BJP’s impressive show in the Lok Sabha polls in the state virtually propelled the party for its third consecutive term at the Centre.

Mohan Majhi becomes Chief Minister

Tribal leader and four-time Keonjhar MLA Mohan Charan Majhi was chosen by the BJP central leadership to head the party’s maiden government in Odisha. The party also appointed two Deputy Chief Ministers—KV Singh Deo and Pravati Parida—to assist Majhi. Majhi formed a 16-member Council of Ministers in the state. Senior BJP leaders Suresh Pujari and Prithiviraj Harichandan inducted into the Council of Ministers but Sambalpur MLA and former LoP Jayanarayan Mishra did not get any ministerial berth.

Party-hopping raises eyebrows

Several leaders, including a few sitting and former Lok Sabha MPs, shifted their political allegiance ahead of the twin polls in the state. Two sitting MPs—Bhartruhari Mahatab (Cuttack) and Anubhav Mohanty (Kendrapara)—and former Berhampur MP Siddhant Mohapatra resigned from the BJD and joined the BJP. Besides, many sitting MLAs quit BJD and joined BJP in the run-up to the elections. Two prominent BJP leaders—Bhrugu Buximpatra and Lekhashree Samantasinghar—left BJP and moved to the BJD fold. Similarly, senior Congress leaders—Chiranjibi Biswal and Ganeswar Behera—joined the regional party. 

Ashwini Vaishnaw, 2 others win Rajya Sabha race

Bureaucrat-turned-politician and BJP leader Ashwini Vaishnaw and BJD’s Debashish Samantaray and Subhashish Khuntia were elected to the Rajya Sabha unopposed in February. The BJD once again supported Vaishnaw’s candidature to the Upper House of the Parliament. The regional party had extended support to the former IAS officer when he was elected to the Rajya Sabha for the first time in 2019.  

3 Odisha MPs get Cabinet berths

Three MPs from Odisha—two Lok Sabha members and one Rajya Sabha MP—were inducted into the Union Cabinet led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Sambalpur MP Dharmendra Pradhan and Rajya Sabha MP Ashwini Vaishnaw retained their places in the Union Cabinet while Jual Oram, the Lok Sabha MP from Sundargarh, got the ministerial berth at the Centre after a gap of five years. Pradhan was allocated the Education Ministry while Vaishnaw got Railways and Information & Broadcasting Ministries. Oram was given the charge of Tribal Affairs Ministry.

2 Rajya Sabha MPs quit BJD

Two Rajya Sabha MPs—Mamata Mohanta and Sujeet Kumar—resigned from the Upper House as well as the primary membership of the party months after the BJP formed government in the state. The duo joined the BJP and got elected to the Rajya Sabha as the saffron party nominees in two separate by-polls. With this, the BJD’s Rajya Sabha tally came down to seven.

India

The BJP maintained its supremacy in the national politics. The party, in alliance with some regional players, once again formed government at the Centre. Besides, it won the Assembly polls in states like Maharashtra, Haryana and Odisha. The Congress party was forced to sit in the Opposition for the third time in a row. Furthermore, the party could not win the Assembly elections in any major states in 2024.

BJP-led NDA retains power

The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) retained power at the Centre for the third consecutive term in the 2024 polls. The alliance secured victory in 293 Lok Sabha seats of the total 545 in the country. The BJP alone secured victory in 240 seats while its key allies Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Janata Dal (United) added 16 and 12 seats respectively.

Narendra Modi equals Nehru’s feat 

BJP’s Narendra Modi became the second leader after Jawaharlal Nehru to assume the office of the Prime Minister for the third consecutive term. Modi was elected as the Prime Minister of India for the first time in 2014. He was re-elected to the coveted post in 2019. Before assuming the office of the Prime Minister, Modi had served as the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014.

Rahul becomes LoP, Priyanka makes electoral debut

The Congress party improved its Lok Sabha tally by winning a hundred seats in the 2024 elections. The party had secured victory in around 50 seats in 2019 polls. Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi was announced as the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha. The Gandhi scion, who was elected to the Lower House from two seats, vacated the Wayanad segment in Kerala and retained his family’s traditional Raebareli seat in Uttar Pradesh. Rahul’s sister and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra fought the by-poll form Wayanad and got elected with a margin of around 4 lakh votes.

Seven states go for Assembly polls

Seven states and the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir went for Assembly polls in 2024. The BJP alone secured victory and formed government in three states—Odisha, Haryana and Arunachal Pradesh. The saffron party and its allies Shiv Sena and NCP retained power in Maharashtra. The JMM-Congress alliance got the majority to form the government in Jharkhand for the second consecutive term. The National Conference came to power in J&K as the Election Commission of India (ECI) conducted Assembly polls in the Union Territory after a gap of around 10 years. The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) of N. Chandrababu Naidu returned to power in Andhra Pradesh by defeating YSR Congress party of Jagan Mohan Reddy. 

Actor Vijay launches political party

Tamil superstar Thalapathy Vijay launched a new political party, Tamizhaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) in Tamil Nadu. The actor has announced that his party will contest the Assembly elections in the southern state in 2026. While launching TVK, Vijay made it clear that the ruling DMK is the political rival of his party but BJP is its ideological opponent.

Scuffle outside Parliament, 2 MPs hurt

Two Lok Sabha MPs—Pratap Sarangi of Balasore in Odisha and Mukesh Rajput of Farrukhabad in Uttar Pradesh—were injured in an alleged scuffle outside the Parliament during the Winter Session. The incident took place while the BJP MPs were holding a demonstration at the main entrance of the Parliament. The injured MPs alleged that they had been pushed by Leader of Opposition (LOP) Rahul Gadhi. The Congress party, on the other hand, claimed that the BJP MPs were forcibly obstructing Gandhi and other party MPs from entering the Parliament. Both sides lodged separate police complaints.