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{{short description|none}} <!-- "none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive; see [[WP:SDNONE]] -->
{{State of Odisha}}
The '''politics of Odisha''' are part of [[Government of India|India's]] [[Federal republic|federal]] [[parliamentary]] [[representative democracy]], where the union government exercises sovereign rights. Certain powers are reserved to the [[States and union territories of India|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.

=={{anchor|Current situation}}Present day==
{{Unreferenced section|date=March 2021}}
The BJD used to have the largest number of seats in the [[Odisha Legislative Assembly]] 
before the 2024 elections. BJD leader and former chief minister Naveen Pattanaik, served as the 14th Chief Minister of Odisha from 5th March 2000 to 5th June 2024. Other parties represented in the assembly are the BJP who have defeated BJD in the 2024 elections, the Congress Party and the [[Communist Party of India (Marxist)]]. [[Mohan Charan Majhi]] of [[BJP]] is the current Chief Minister of Odisha since 11th June 2024.  The next assembly election is scheduled for 2029.

Odisha is represented by 21 members of the [[Lok Sabha]], the lower house of the Indian parliament. They are elected from geographic constituencies. In the [[Rajya Sabha]] (the upper house of parliament), the state is represented by 10 members who are elected by the legislative assembly.

==History==
{{Unreferenced section|date=March 2021}}
Odisha was part of the [[Bengal Presidency]] during the [[British Raj]]. The [[Presidencies and provinces of British India|presidency]] was split in 1912, creating [[Bihar and Orissa Province]]. In 1936, [[Orissa Province]] was created from the [[Odia language|Odia-speaking]] areas of Bihar and Orissa Province and portions of the [[Vizagapatam Hill Tracts Agency]] and [[Ganjam Hill Tracts Agency]].

The [[Government of India Act 1935]] provided for the election of a provincial legislative assembly and government, and the head of government was designated as the prime minister. Assembly elections were held in 1937; the [[Indian National Congress]] won a majority of the seats, but declined to form a government. A minority provisional government was formed under [[Krushna Chandra Gajapati]], the maharaja of [[Paralakhemundi]]. The Congress reversed its decision, and resolved to form a government in July 1937; the governor invited [[Bishwanath Das]] to do so. In 1939, with Congress ministers in other provinces, Das resigned in protest of the [[Governor-General of India|Governor-General's]] declaration of war against Germany without consulting Indian leaders. Orissa was under [[President's rule|governor's rule]] until 1941, when Gajapati again became the premier until 1944. Another round of elections was held in 1946 with another Congress majority, and a government was formed under [[Harekrushna Mahatab]].

With Indian independence the position of prime minister was replaced with that of chief minister, and [[Harekrushna Mahatab|Mahatab]] became Odisha's first chief minister. Most of the Odia-speaking princely states [[Instrument of Accession|acceded]] to India, and were merged with Odisha. In 1951-52, the first elections were held under India's new [[Constitution of India|constitution]]. Congress won a plurality of seats, but failed to obtain a majority. A coalition government was formed by [[Nabakrushna Choudhury]], with the support of independents.

After [[Nabakrushna Choudhuri|Nabakrushna Choudhury]], there was great political instability in Odisha during the 20th century. Chief Ministers changed frequently. It was [[Janaki Ballabh Patnaik]] who served for a good period. Later his image also got demolished.
Finally, it was [[Naveen Patnaik]], who brought political stability in Odisha by serving for 25 years. He is the longest serving CM of Odisha.

=={{anchor|Political Parties}}Parties==
The state has a mix of national and regional political parties:
*'''[[Aam Aadmi Party]] (AAP)''' - A national party.<ref name="AAP-018">{{cite web | author=Guest | title=Aam Aadmi Party (Loksabha) (AP, Telangana & Odisha) | website=Election Commission of India | date=2018-10-10 |url=https://old.eci.gov.in/files/file/7941-aam-aadmi-party-loksabha-ap-telangana-odisha/ | access-date=2019-09-06}}</ref> In the 2019 general elections, it won 0.6 percent of the votes and no seats.<ref name="Assembly Election 2019">{{cite web | title=Election Commission of India | website=Assembly Election 2019 | url=https://results.eci.gov.in/ac/en/partywise/partywiseresult-S18.htm?st=S18 | access-date=2019-09-06}}</ref>
*'''[[All India Forward Bloc]] (AIFB)''' - A regional party, with [[West Bengal]] as its headquarters.<ref name="All India Forward Bloc-2018">{{cite web | author=Guest | title=All India Forward Bloc | website=Election Commission of India | date=2018-09-27 |url=https://old.eci.gov.in/files/file/7944-all-india-forward-bloc/ | access-date=2019-09-06}}</ref> In the 2019 Odisha Vidhan Sabha elections, it won 0.4 percent of the vote and no seats.<ref name="Assembly Election 2019"/>
*'''[[All India Jharkhand Party]]''' - A regional political party based in [[Jharkhand]], with limited support in Odisha. In the 1971 elections, it won four assembly seats.
* '''[[All India Trinamool Congress]] (AITC)''' - A regional party, headed by [[Mamata Banerjee]]. In the 2019 Odisha Vidhan Sabha elections, it won 0.07% vote and no seats.<ref name="Assembly Election 2019"/>
* '''[[Biju Janata Dal]] (BJD)''' - A regional offshoot of the [[Janata Dal]] party, headed by [[Naveen Patnaik]] and established in 1997. Leading the state government in successive elections, it won 44.71 percent of the vote and 112 seats in the 2019 elections, the party's chief minister's 24 years reign ended with the 2024 elections.<ref name="Assembly Election 2019"/> The party also won 12 seats in the Lok Sabha elections.<ref name="IndiaToday 2019">{{cite web | title=Odisha Lok Sabha Election Result 2019, Odisha Assembly and General Poll Result 2019 – IndiaToday | website=IndiaToday | date=2019-07-05 | url=https://www.indiatoday.in/elections/lok-sabha-2019/odisha | access-date=2019-09-06}}</ref>
* '''[[Bharatiya Janata Party]] (BJP)''' - National party, led by [[Narendra Modi]]. A coalition partner of the BJD from 1997 to 2009, it has been in opposition till 2024 in the state assembly after which it became the ruling party. In the 2019 Vidhan Sabha election, the party won 32.5 percent of the vote and 23 seats.<ref name="Assembly Election 2019"/> It also won eight seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.<ref name="IndiaToday 2019">{{cite web | title=Odisha Lok Sabha Election Result 2019, Odisha Assembly and General Poll Result 2019 – IndiaToday | website=IndiaToday | date=2019-07-05 | url=https://www.indiatoday.in/elections/lok-sabha-2019/odisha | access-date=2019-09-06}}</ref>
*'''[[Bahujan Samaj Party]] (BSP)''' - A national party which won 0.82 percent of the vote and no seats in the 2019 Vidhan Sabha elections.<ref name="Assembly Election 2019"/>
*'''[[Communist Party of India]] (CPI)''' - A regional party. In the 2019 Vidhan Sabha elections, it won 0.12 percent of the vote and no seats.<ref name="Assembly Election 2019"/>
*'''[[Communist Party of India (Marxist)]] (CPM)''' - A national party, it won 0.3 percent of the vote and one seat in the 2019 Vidhan Sabha elections.<ref name="Assembly Election 2019"/>
*'''[[Indian National Congress]] (INC)''' - A national party which dominated state politics until 2000; since then, it has been in opposition. In the 2019 Vidhan Sabha elections, the INC won 16.12 percent of the vote and nine seats.<ref name="Assembly Election 2019"/>
*'''[[Jharkhand Mukti Morcha]] (JMM)''' - A regional party in Jharkhand, influential in some areas of Odisha. Its best performance was in 2004, when it won four assembly seats and one parliamentary seat.
*'''[[Jharkhand Party]] (JKP)''' - Grew from support for a separate Jharkhand state, with limited support in Odisha. In the 1974 assembly elections, it won one seat.

Former political parties are:
* '''[[All India Ganatantra Parishad]]''' - Also known as the Ganatanra Parishad (GP), it was a regional party based in Odisha which was active from 1950 to 1962. Formed by former rulers of the princely states and large landlords, [[Rajendra Narayan Singh Deo]] was its president. In 1962, it merged with the Odisha branch of the Swatantra Party after the parliamentary elections. The party was the principal opposition twice, and was part of the coalition government in 1959.
* '''[[Swatantra Party]]''' - A [[Classical liberalism|classical liberal]] party, formed by C. Rajagopalachari in 1959. In the 1967 assembly elections, it won a plurality of the vote and formed a coalition government with Rajendra Narayan Singh Deo as chief minister and the Orissa Jana Congress as alliance partner. In subsequent assemblies, Swatantra was in opposition. 
* '''[[Orissa Jana Congress]]''' - Formed in 1966 by former chief minister Harekrushna Mahatab after he left the Indian National Congress. After the 1967 elections, the Jana Congress participated in a coalition government with the Swatantra Party from 1967 to 1969. In the 1971 and 1974 elections the party won one seat, and merged into the Janata Party in 1977.
*'''[[Praja Socialist Party]] (PSP)''' - A national party formed by a merger of the Socialist Party (led by Jayprakash Narayan) and the Kisan Mazdoor Praja Party, led by J.B. Kripalani. In the 1957 assembly elections, it won 10 percent of the vote and 10 seats. Its best result was the 1967 elections, when it won 12 percent of the vote and 21 seats.
* '''[[Janata Party]] (JNP)''' - An amalgam of Indian parties opposed to [[The Emergency (India)|the Emergency]]. In Odisha, the party formed a government in 1977 with Nilamani Routray as chief minister. The government lasted for two years, and fell when the Janata Party split up.
*'''[[Janata Dal]]''' - A national party formed through the merger of Janata Party factions, the [[Lokdal]], the [[Indian National Congress (Jagjivan)]], and the [[Jan Morcha]]. In Odisha, the Janata Dal (led by [[Biju Patnaik]]) headed the state government from 1990 to 1995 and was the principal opposition from 1995 to 1997.
*'''[[Utkal Congress]] (UC)''' - Formed in 1969, when Biju Patnaik left the Indian National Congress. After the 1971 Odisha elections, UC won 33 seats and 23 percent of the vote. It was a partner in the [[Bishwanath Das]]-led coalition government. In 1974, the UC merged into [[Bharatiya Lok Dal]].
*'''[[Odisha Gana Parishad]] (OGP)'''- A splinter group of the Biju Janata Dal, the party was founded on October 29, 2000, and led by [[Bijoy Mohapatra]]. In the 2004 elections, the OGP allied with the Indian National Congress. The party had four candidates for the state legislative assembly, two of whom were elected. In 2007, the OGP merged with the [[Nationalist Congress Party]].

==Chief ministers==
{{Excerpt|List of chief ministers of Odisha|List of Chief Minister of Odisha}}

==Elections==
{{Main|Elections in Odisha}}
Elections to the first Vidhan Sabha (1952–57) of Odisha were held in 1951–52. The Indian National Congress won 67 seats with 37.87&nbsp;percent of the vote, and Ganatantra Parishad won 31 seats and 20.50 percent of vote.<ref name="Bailey 1963 p. 3">{{cite book | last=Bailey | first=F.G. | title=Politics and Social Change: Orissa in 1959 | publisher=University of California Press | series=Campus: GÃ©ographie | year=1963 | isbn=978-0-520-01678-1 | url=https://archive.org/details/politicssocialch1970bail | url-access=registration | access-date=2019-09-09 | page=[https://archive.org/details/politicssocialch1970bail/page/3 3]}}</ref> Congress fell short of a simple majority, but formed a government with the support of independents; [[Nabakrushna Choudhuri|Nabakrushna Choudhury]] was chief minister. The [[Socialist Party (India)|Socialist Party]] and the Communist Party of India won 10 and 7 seats, respectively, and 24 independents were elected. [[Nabakrushna Choudhuri|Nabakrushna Choudhury]] resigned after the 1955 flood, and [[Harekrushna Mahatab]] returned as chief minister.

[[1957 Odisha Legislative Assembly election|Elections]] to the second Vidhan Sabha (1957–62) were held in 1957.<ref name="Bailey 1963 p. 4">{{cite book | last=Bailey | first=F.G. | title=Politics and Social Change: Orissa in 1959 | publisher=University of California Press | series=Campus: GÃ©ographie | year=1963 | isbn=978-0-520-01678-1 | url=https://archive.org/details/politicssocialch0000bail | url-access=registration | access-date=2019-09-09 | page=[https://archive.org/details/politicssocialch0000bail/page/4 4]}}</ref> Congress won a plurality with 56 seats, and Ganatantra Parishad won 51 seats; Congress formed a government led by [[Harekrushna Mahatab]] .

The most recent election was held in 2019. [[Biju Janata Dal]] returned to power with a majority, winning 112 of 147 seats. The BJP won 23 seats (becoming the main opposition), and the INC won nine seats.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Politics of India by state or territory}}
{{Odisha}}
{{15th LS members from Odisha}}
{{Rajya Sabha Members from Odisha}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}

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[[Category:Politics of Odisha| ]]