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.
The State Legislative Council,or Vidhan Parishad is the upper house in those states of India that have a bicameral state legislature;the lower house being the State Legislative Assembly. Its establishment is defined in Article 169 of the Constitution of India.
Naveen Patnaik is an Indian politician and writer,who served as the 14th Chief Minister of Odisha from 5 March 2000 to 12 June 2024. His 24-year reign is the second longest for a chief minister of any Indian state,after Pawan Kumar Chamling of Sikkim. He is the first president of the Biju Janata Dal since 1997. He served as the Union Minister of Steel and Mines from 1998 to 2000 and a member of the Lok Sabha from Aska from 1997 to 2000.
Dilip Tirkey,is a former captain of the Indian field hockey team,politician and sports administrator. He was awarded Padma Shree in 2004. Currently he is the president of Hockey India.
Prasanna Acharya is an Indian politician from Odisha,India. He is a former member of parliament in the Rajya Sabha. He is a member of the Biju Janata Dal.
Pyarimohan Mohapatra was a politician from the Odisha Jana Morcha as a member of the Parliament of India representing Odisha in the Rajya Sabha,the upper house of the Indian Parliament. He was the political advisor of Naveen Patnaik. He started his career as an IAS officer and was principal secretary to Biju Patnaik. He was considered as the mastermind and the proxy leader of the Biju Janata Dal.
The politics of Odisha are part of India's federal parliamentary representative democracy,where the union government exercises sovereign rights. Certain powers are reserved to the states,including Odisha. The state has a multi-party system,in which the two main parties are the nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the regional,socialist Biju Janata Dal (BJD). The Indian National Congress (INC) has also significant presence.
Ananga Udaya Singh Deo,also known as A U Singh Deo is a politician from Odisha,India. He was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2014 from Odisha.
Nityananda Pradhan is an Indian politician. He was a member of the 15th Lok Sabha,representing Aska . He left Communist Party of India and joined Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in 2008. He is a former member of Legislative Assembly of Odisha.
Rajgangpur is a Vidhan Sabha constituency of Sundargarh district,Odisha. Area of this constituency includes Rajgangpur,Rajgangpur block,Lathikata block and part of Kutra block.
Kalpataru Das was an Indian politician from the Odisha state. He belonged to the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) party. He won the Odisha Legislative Assembly election,1995 from Dharmasala constituency of Jajpur district,which he held consecutively from 1995-2014. On 2 August 2012,he was given the portfolio of Panchayati Raj Minister. From 3 April 2014,he was an MP of Rajya Sabha. In 2013,he was State Panchayati Raj Minister and Parliamentary Affairs Minister. He died on 25 July 2015,aged 67. He was cremated on Sunday evening at Bhotaka in Tehsil Kuakhia,Jajpur district,from where he belonged,by his eldest son BJD MLA Pranab Balabantaray.
Pratap Chandra Sarangi is an Indian politician from Balasore,Odisha. He serves as a National Executive Member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and a member of parliament from the Balasore Lok Sabha constituency in Odisha. He was the Minister of State in the Government of India for Animal Husbandry,Dairying and Fisheries and Micro,Small and Medium Enterprises (2019-2021) and a two-time member of the Odisha Legislative Assembly from Nilgiri (2004-2014). Sarangi was Odisha's state unit chief of the Bajrang Dal when Graham Staines,an Australian Christian Missionary,and his two minor children were burnt alive by the members of the right-wing outfit in 1999. Later he was involved in 2001 Odisha Assembly attack.
Bhupinder Singh is an Indian politician. He was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2014 from Odisha. He is the former Leader of Opposition in the Odisha Legislative Assembly representing from Narla constituency. He is a member of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) political party. He had left Congress and joined BJD in March 2014.
Sarojini Hembram is an Indian politician from the Odisha state. She belongs to the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) party. She was elected to the Odisha Legislative Assembly from Bangriposi in 2009 and became the minister for textile,handlooms and handicrafts in the Odisha Government. She was elected to the Rajya Sabha the Upper house of Indian Parliament in 2014 from Odisha.
Rajya Sabha elections were held in India in 2015 to elect eight members of the Rajya Sabha,the upper house of the Indian Parliament. Five by-elections were also held. The regular elections were held to fill seats in the States of Jammu and Kashmir,Kerala,and the Union Territory of Pondicherry.
Ashwini Vaishnaw is an Indian politician,former IAS officer and a businessman serving as the 39th Minister of Railways,the 35th Minister of Information and Broadcasting and the 2nd Minister of Electronics and Information Technology since 2024.
Sujeet Kumar is an Indian politician of the Bharatiya Janata Party,representing Odisha in the Rajya Sabha. In addition to his political career,Kumar is a lawyer and a trained arbitrator,practicing in the Supreme Court of India,as well as in various High Courts and Tribunals. He has held several significant positions,including Chairman of the Committee on Petitions in the Rajya Sabha,where he was one of the youngest individuals to chair a Parliamentary Committee. Previously,he served as the Advisor to the Special Development Council (SDC) of the Government of Odisha,with a rank equivalent to Chief Secretary,and as the Special Secretary of the Odisha State Planning Board. These roles involved senior-level policy planning and development responsibilities within the state government.
Subhash Chandra Singh is a social activist,people leader and policy maker from the State of Odisha,India. He is the first directly elected Mayor of Cuttack Municipal Corporation,acting Treasurer of Biju Janta Dal and General Secretary of Biju Sramika Samukhya. Previously he has also been member of Rajya Sabha from Odisha and has also served as National spokesperson for BJD. He was elected for Rajya Sabha on 24 March 2020. Being one of the most trusted senior leaders in BJD,he holds the position of Party Treasurer of Biju Janta Dal since 2016.
Sulata Deo is an Indian politician and a member of the Rajya Sabha,upper house of the Parliament of India from Odisha as member of the Biju Janata Dal. She was previously advisor to the 'Mission Shakti' program of Govt of Odisha. She is also spokesperson of BJD.
Kishore Kumar Mohanty was an Indian politician who served as Member of Rajya Sabha from Odisha,Speaker and Member of Odisha Legislative Assembly from Jharsuguda Assembly constituency and Brajarajnagar Assembly constituency and Chairman of Western Odisha Development Council.
