# Biju Janata Dal

The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) is an Indian regional political party with significant influence in the state of Odisha. It was founded by the former minister of mines and minerals of the Republic of India Naveen Patnaik on 26 December 1997 as a breakaway faction from the Janata Dal. The BJD is led by its founder as president of the party. The headquarters of the party is located in Forest Park, Bhubaneswar.

## Elections

The BJD won nine seats in the 1998 general election and Naveen was named Minister for Mines. In the 1999 general elections, the BJD won 10 seats. The party won a majority of seats in the Odisha Legislative Assembly in the 2000 and 2004 elections in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The BJD won 11 Lok Sabha seats in the 2004 elections. In the aftermath of the 2008 Kandhamal riots, the BJD parted ways with the BJP in the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections held in 2009, citing communalism and differences in seat sharing. During the election, BJD won 14 seats and secured a strong 108 legislative seats out of 147 seats in the 2009 Odisha legislative elections. Biju Janata Dal won a huge victory in the 2014 general election, securing 20 of the 21 Odishan Lok Sabha seats and 117 of the 147 Odisha Legislative Assembly seats. They were re-elected to power in Odisha in 2019, winning 112 of the 147 seats in the Odisha state assembly; however, their seats in the Lok Sabha were reduced to 12. In 2022, BJD clean swept elections of Panchayat & urban local bodies in the state. In 2024, they lost all their Lok Sabha seats and also lost the assembly election, with the BJP winning both.

## Leadership

The highest decision-making body of the party is its Core Committee.
* Naveen Patnaik - Founder, National Chairperson, Leader of the Party in the Odisha Legislative Assembly
* Pinaki Misra - ex Leader of the Party in the Lok Sabha
* Prasanna Acharya - Leader of the Party in the Rajya Sabha
* Niranjan Pujari - Former Minister of Finance, Excise in Government of Odisha
* Pranab Prakash Das - General Secretary (Organisation)
* Sanjay Kumar Das Burma - General Secretary (Headquarters)
* Subhash Chandra Singh - Mayor of Cuttack, Party Treasurer and General Secretary of the Biju Sramika Samukhya
* Dr Byomokesh Ray - President, Biju Yuba Janata Dal
* Devi Ranjan Tripathy - President, Biju Chhatra Janata Dal
* Snehangini Chhuria - President, Biju Mahila Janata Dal

## Electoral performance
### Indian general elections

Lok Sabha Elections :
| Year | Lok Sabha | Party leader | Seats contested | Seats won | Change in seats | Percentage of votes | Vote swing | Popular vote | Outcome |
| 1998 | 12th | Naveen Patnaik | 12 | 9 / 543 | 9 | 1.00% | | 3,669,825 | Government |
| 1999 | 13th | Naveen Patnaik | 12 | 10 / 543 | 1 | 1.20% | 0.20% | 4,378,536 | Government |
| 2004 | 14th | Naveen Patnaik | 12 | 11 / 543 | 1 | 1.30% | 0.10% | 5,082,849 | Opposition |
| 2009 | 15th | Naveen Patnaik | 18 | 14 / 543 | 3 | 1.59% | 0.29% | 6,612,552 | Others |
| 2014 | 16th | Naveen Patnaik | 21 | 20 / 543 | 6 | 1.73% | 0.14% | 9,489,946 | Others |
| 2019 | 17th | Naveen Patnaik | 21 | 12 / 543 | 8 | 1.68% | 0.05% | 10,174,021 | Others |
| 2024 | 18th | Naveen Patnaik | 21 | 0 / 543 | 12 | 1.46% | 0.22% | 9,413,379 | Lost |

### State legislative assembly elections

Odisha Legislative Assembly Elections :
| Year | Assembly | Party leader | Seats contested | Seats won | Change in seats | Percentage of votes | Vote swing | Popular vote | Outcome |
| 2000 | 12th | Naveen Patnaik | 84 | 68 / 147 | 68 | 29.40% | | 4,151,895 | Government |
| 2004 | 13th | Naveen Patnaik | 84 | 61 / 147 | 7 | 27.36% | 2.04% | 4,632,280 | Government |
| 2009 | 14th | Naveen Patnaik | 129 | 103 / 147 | 42 | 38.86% | 11.50% | 6,903,641 | Government |
| 2014 | 15th | Naveen Patnaik | 147 | 117 / 147 | 14 | 43.35% | 4.49% | 9,335,159 | Government |
| 2019 | 16th | Naveen Patnaik | 146 | 112 / 147 | 5 | 44.71% | 1.36% | 10,475,697 | Government |
| 2024 | 17th | Naveen Patnaik | 147 | 51 / 147 | 61 | 40.22% | 4.49% | 10,102,454 | Opposition |

## List of party leaders
### Presidents

| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Term in office | Term in office | Term in office |
| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Assumed office | Left office | Time in office |
| 1 | | Naveen Patnaik (b. 1946) | 26 December 1997 | Incumbent | 27 years, 83 days |

## Legislative leaders
### List of union cabinet ministers

| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Portfolio | Term in office | Term in office | Term in office | Elected constituency (House) | Prime Minister | Prime Minister |
| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Portfolio | Assumed office | Left office | Time in office | Elected constituency (House) | Prime Minister | Prime Minister |
| 1 | | Naveen Patnaik (b. 1946) | Ministry of Steel and Mines | 19 March 1998 | 13 October 1999 | 1 year, 208 days | Aska (Lok Sabha) | Atal Bihari Vajpayee | |
| 1 | | Naveen Patnaik (b. 1946) | Ministry of Mines and Minerals | 13 October 1999 | 4 March 2000 | 143 days | Aska (Lok Sabha) | Atal Bihari Vajpayee | |
| 2 | | Arjun Charan Sethi (1941–2020) | Ministry of Water Resources | 27 May 2000 | 22 May 2004 | 3 years, 361 days | Bhadrak (Lok Sabha) | Atal Bihari Vajpayee | |

### List of union ministers of state (independent charge)

| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Portfolio | Term in office | Term in office | Term in office | Elected constituency (House) | Prime Minister | Prime Minister |
| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Portfolio | Assumed office | Left office | Time in office | Elected constituency (House) | Prime Minister | Prime Minister |
| 1 | | Dilip Kumar Ray (b. 1954) | Ministry of Coal | 20 March 1998 | 13 October 1999 | 1 year, 207 days | Odisha (Rajya Sabha) | Atal Bihari Vajpayee | |
| 1 | | Dilip Kumar Ray (b. 1954) | Ministry of Steel | 13 October 1999 | 27 May 2000 | 227 days | Odisha (Rajya Sabha) | Atal Bihari Vajpayee | |
| 2 | | Braja Kishore Tripathy (b. 1947) | Ministry of Steel | 27 May 2000 | 22 May 2004 | 3 years, 361 days | Puri (Lok Sabha) | Atal Bihari Vajpayee | |

### List of chief ministers
#### Chief Ministers of Odisha

| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Term in office | Term in office | Term in office | Assembly (Election) | Elected constituency | Ministry |
| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Assumed office | Left office | Time in office | Assembly (Election) | Elected constituency | Ministry |
| 1 | | Naveen Patnaik (b. 1946) | 5 March 2000 | 15 May 2004 | 24 years, 98 days | 12th (2000) | Hinjili | Patnaik I |
| 1 | | Naveen Patnaik (b. 1946) | 16 May 2004 | 21 May 2009 | 24 years, 98 days | 13th (2004) | Hinjili | Patnaik II |
| 1 | | Naveen Patnaik (b. 1946) | 22 May 2009 | 20 May 2014 | 24 years, 98 days | 14th (2009) | Hinjili | Patnaik III |
| 1 | | Naveen Patnaik (b. 1946) | 21 May 2014 | 28 May 2019 | 24 years, 98 days | 15th (2014) | Hinjili | Patnaik IV |
| 1 | | Naveen Patnaik (b. 1946) | 29 May 2019 | 11 June 2024 | 24 years, 98 days | 16th (2019) | Hinjili | Patnaik V |

### List of union ministers of state

| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Portfolio | Term in office | Term in office | Term in office | Elected constituency (House) | Cabinet Minister | Cabinet Minister | Prime Minister | Prime Minister |
| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Portfolio | Assumed office | Left office | Time in office | Elected constituency (House) | Cabinet Minister | Cabinet Minister | Prime Minister | Prime Minister |
| 1 | | Dilip Kumar Ray (b. 1954) | Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs | 22 May 1998 | 22 October 1999 | 1 year, 153 days | Odisha (Rajya Sabha) | Madan Lal Khurana P. R. Kumaramangalam Pramod Mahajan | | Atal Bihari Vajpayee | |

### List of leaders of the opposition
#### Leaders of the Opposition in the Odisha Legislative Assembly

| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Term in office | Term in office | Term in office | Assembly (Election) | Elected constituency |
| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Assumed office | Left office | Time in office | Assembly (Election) | Elected constituency |
| 1 | | Naveen Patnaik (b. 1946) | 20 June 2024 | Incumbent | 272 days | 17th (2024) | Hinjili |

### List of deputy leaders of the opposition
#### Deputy Leaders of the Opposition in the Odisha Legislative Assembly

| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Term in office | Term in office | Term in office | Assembly (Election) | Elected constituency | Leader of the Opposition |
| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Assumed office | Left office | Time in office | Assembly (Election) | Elected constituency | Leader of the Opposition |
| 1 | | Prasanna Acharya (b. 1949) | 20 June 2024 | Incumbent | 272 days | 17th (2024) | Rairakhol | Naveen Patnaik |