Bhubaneswar: Former Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition in Odisha Legislative Assembly Naveen Patnaik on Thursday filed his nomination for the post of Biju Janata Dal (BJD) president for the ninth time.
BJD's returning officer for the organisational elections, Pratap Keshari Deb said Patnaik was the sole candidate for the post. Patnaik has been elected BJD president eight times in a row since BJD came into being in 1997. He was last elected to the post in February, 2020. The former Chief Minister filed his nomination papers on the 28th death anniversary of his father Biju Patnaik, after whom the regional party is named.
“The time for filing nominations was between 10 am and 1 pm. We have received only one nomination from Naveen Patnaik and the name of the president will be announced on April 19 at Sankha Bhawan,” Deb said.
Patnaik, who served as the Chief Minister of Odisha from 2000 to 2024, has been instrumental in shaping the state’s political and developmental landscape. Under his leadership, the BJD maintained a strong grip on Odisha politics. The party's notable achievements include a landslide victory in the recent three-tier Panchayat elections, where it secured 766 out of 853 zilla parishad seats.
Patnaik’s tenure as Chief Minister was marked by significant growth in various sectors, with Odisha achieving a robust economic growth rate of 7.8% in real terms during 2022-23, surpassing the national average of 7%. The 2024 elections in Odisha saw BJD performing poorly in the Assembly and Lok Sabha polls. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 78 seats out of 147, surpassing the majority mark and forming the government. The BJD secured 51 seats, losing power after 24 years.
Earlier, the BJD had announced names of 18 district presidents, who were elected unopposed, in the fourth phase of the organisational elections. Two more phases are due to be held in the next two days, Deb said. Earlier on the day, BJD leaders paid tributes to former Odisha Chief Minister Biju Patnaik on his death anniversary here.
