After a surprising performance by the Bharatiya Janata Party in Odisha in both Assembly and Lok Sabha elections, the saffron party will is all set to form the next government in the state. Following the BJP's thumping victory, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday resigned as the CM and submitted his resignation to Governor Raghubar Das.
Naveen Patnaik, who held the Odisha fortress since 2000, visited the Raj Bhavan in Bhubaneswar today and handed over his resignation after his party, Biju Janata Dal, suffered a massive loss in both the election segments.
In a shocking performance, the BJP secured a thumping victory, winning 78 Assembly seats out of 147 and 20 Lok Sabha seats out of 21.
It was an unexpected turnout as the ruling party had exuded confidence that it would win over 100 seats in the Assembly elections in Odisha.
Naveen Patnaik missed the record of the longest serving Chief Minister by 73 days. The longest serving CM till date is Pawan Kumar Chamling who held Sikkim's assembly office for 24 years 165 days, from December 12, 1994 to May 26, 2019.
The BJP attained majority in the state riding on the anti-incumbency and other issues like Odia Asmita and lack of development in the past 24 years of BJD rule, Odisha TV reported.
The report also stated that the Odisha Governor has accepted Patnaik’s resignation; and, asked to continue the formation of a new government.
The BJD supremo will now be seen discharging the duties of Opposition in Odisha.
After the win, BJP leader Pradeep Panigrahi stated that the "BJD fortress no longer exists as the party can never survive if there is no leader, intent and policy, and it has been proved."