BJP ends Patnaik's 24-yr rule in Odisha

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's forecast that June 4 would be the expiry date for Naveen Patnaik's 24year rule in Odisha came true on Tuesday as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) cut short the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) chief's ambition to become the longest-serving chief minister of an Indian state.

- RAMANI RANJAN MOHAPATRA

This will be for first time that Patnaik will sit in the Opposition. At the time of going to press, the BJP had won or was leading in 78 seats, up from 22 in 2019, in the 147-member Assembly. The half-way mark is 74. While the BJD managed to secure or was leading in 51 seats, down from 112, the Congress secured 14 seats, an increase of five seats from the 2019 tally.

In terms of vote share, the BJP got 39.89 per cent votes, up from 32.8 per cent in 2019. The BJD, on the other hand, saw its vote share dip to 40.18 per cent from 45.2 per cent in the last election.

Since the party was formed in 1997, Patnaik has never lost an election. However, the 77-year-old, who was making a bid for a record sixth consecutive term, was trailing in Kantabanji constituency, though he retained his Hinjili constituency. At least eight ministers in his Cabinet lost the elections.