In a surprising turn of events, Naveen Patnaik, the Chief Minister and revered leader of the Biju Janta Dal (BJD), tendered his resignation to Governor Raghubar Das at the elegant halls of Raj Bhawan in Bhubaneswar, marking the end of an era on a Wednesday morning. This came as a shockwave following the outcome of the state assembly polls, the verdict of which unveiled just yesterday.

For a staggering reign of nearly a quarter-century, the BJD had held dominion over Odisha’s political landscape since 1997, with Patnaik at the helm since his appointment on the auspicious day of March 5, 2000. However, the winds of change swept fiercely this time around, as the party found itself securing a mere 51 seats out of the total 147 in the state assembly, while its rival, the BJP, surged ahead with a formidable tally of 78 seats.

Adding salt to the wound, the BJD faced the ignominy of a complete rout in the Lok Sabha elections, failing to clinch a single constituency amidst the BJP’s sweeping victory of 20 out of 21 seats, with the remaining one claimed by the Congress party.