Odisha 2024 Lok Sabha Polls: A significant turning point in Odisha s political history occurred with the formation of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) by Naveen Patnaik in 1997. The BJD s emergence marked a shift in the Bhubaneswar Lok Sabha seat s political dynamics, leading to a spectacular victory in the 1998 election with Prasanna Kumar Patasani securing the seat for the party.
In 2019, when Lok Sabha and assembly elections were held simultaneously in Odisha, there was a straight fight between the BJP and BJD for the Bhubaneswar parliamentary seat. BJP candidate, former IAS officer Aparajita Sarangi, managed to wrest the constituency from the BJD. This time, the Congress, which didn't field a candidate in 2019, is also entering the fray
Soumya Ranjan Patnaik, who has questioned V K Pandian’s helicopter rides to districts for attending “grievance meetings”, removed as party vice-president, claims no leader has a role in the organisation