BJD gears up to celebrate 20th foundation day

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KalingaTV News Network

Bhubaneswar: The ruling BJD has geared up to hold a state-level convention as to mark its 20th foundation day at Talabania in Puri district on December 26, 2017.

According to a press release issued by BJD state Secretary Bijay Nayak, a state-level convention would be held at Talabania and around 30,000 party workers including heavy-weight leaders are expected to attend the celebration which is slated to begin at 10 AM.

Party President and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik will address the workers and leaders to take oath to work towards the growth of the state. He has already written to all  district, block and town presidents of the party across the state to attend the convention.

Biju Janata Dal, the regional political outfit of Odisha, was founded on 26 December, 1997, after the name of former Chief Minister Biju Patnaik.

Naveen Patnaik took over his father Bijaynanda ‘Biju’ Pattnaik’s Lok Sabha seat in 1996 as a member of the Janata Dal. In 1997, Patnaik split from Janata Dal over its failure to ally with the BJP, and formed the BJD in December 1997. The BJD has participated in several ruling coalitions with the BJP both at the Centre and in Odisha.

The BJD, however, was one of the main professedly secular parties of the National Democratic Alliance. Much of the popularity and electoral success of the party is credited to Patnaik’s image as an incorruptible and ‘clean’ candidate.

BJD won nine MP seats in the 1998 general election and Naveen was named the Union Minister for Mines in the NDA Government. In the 1999 general election, BJD won 10 seats. The party won a majority of seats in the State Legislative Assembly in 2000 and 2004 elections in alliance with BJP. The party won 11 Lok Sabha seats in the 2004 elections.

However, BJD parted ways with the BJP for both the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in 2009 citing differences in seat sharing. In the 2009 general election, BJD won 14 MP seats and secured strong 108 legislative seats out of 147 assembly segments. It won a huge victory in the 2014 general election securing 20 out of the total 21 Lok Sabha seats and 117 of 147 assembly seats in the state.

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