A second term for Biju Janata Dal
What happened
Biju Janata Dal held onto power in Odisha for a second election in a row, with fewer seats than its first win.
It won 61 of the 147 seats on offer.
That fell short of the 74-seat majority mark on its own.
It kept governing through the NDA — an alliance, where parties team up to fight an election together and share power if they win enough seats between them.
The Indian National Congress actually won more of the vote, 34.8% to the BJD's 27.4%, but that turned into far fewer seats.
The campaign
The Election Commission announced the schedule on 29 February 2004. Polling ran in two phases, 20 and 26 April, alongside the Lok Sabha election, and votes were counted on 13 May.1
The Biju Janata Dal and Bharatiya Janata Party contested as National Democratic Alliance partners, splitting seats 4:3, with Naveen Patnaik leading BJD's campaign and Jual Oram leading BJP's.2
The Indian National Congress, led by former chief minister Janaki Ballabh Patnaik, headed an opposition alliance with the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha under Shibu Soren, contesting 133 of the 147 seats to JMM's 12.3
The newly formed Odisha Gana Parishad, led by Bijoy Mohapatra, joined that alliance, fielding four candidates and winning two — its first seats in the assembly.4
In the first phase, on 20 April, sitting minister Droupadi Murmu stood again for the BJP in Rairangpur and defeated JMM's Ramchandra Murmu by 42 votes, the tightest finish in the state that year.5
- 1Election Commission Sets Two-Phase Schedule for 2004 Odisha Assembly Poll — 2004 Orissa Legislative Assembly election
- 2BJD and BJP Contest 2004 Odisha Polls as NDA, Split Seats 4:3 — 2004 Orissa Legislative Assembly election
- 3Congress Heads Opposition Alliance with JMM in 2004 Odisha Poll — 2004 Orissa Legislative Assembly election
- 4Bijoy Mohapatra's Odisha Gana Parishad Allies with Congress, Wins Debut Seats — Odisha Gana Parishad
- 5Droupadi Murmu Re-Elected from Rairangpur by 42 Votes — Rairangpur Assembly constituency, Droupadi Murmu
What changed
The single biggest shift ran away from BJD, even as it kept power overall.
16 of the 147 seats compared moved from BJD to INC.
That was the largest single flow among the 64 seats that changed hands overall.
BJD itself went from 68 seats to 61, its second win in a row but a smaller one.
Turnout, the share of registered voters who actually cast a ballot, rose +7.6 pp from the election before.
Notable numbers
Rairangpur, Odisha was decided by 42 votes, the tightest finish anywhere — sitting minister Droupadi Murmu held on there against JMM's Ramchandra Murmu.5
Hinjili, Odisha saw the widest margin, 49.3% of the vote.
Athmallik, Odisha recorded the best turnout, 77.3%.
Bhubaneswar, Odisha was the largest constituency by registered voters, 4,43,908 on its rolls, and also recorded the lowest turnout of the year, 40.2%.
Bangriposi, Odisha drew the most candidates, 15 names on the ballot.
OGP became Odisha's one new party to win seats that year, just months after Bijoy Mohapatra founded it.4
- 4Bijoy Mohapatra's Odisha Gana Parishad Allies with Congress, Wins Debut Seats — Odisha Gana Parishad
- 5Droupadi Murmu Re-Elected from Rairangpur by 42 Votes — Rairangpur Assembly constituency, Droupadi Murmu
The backdrop
Naveen Patnaik founded the Biju Janata Dal on 26 December 1997, after splitting from the Janata Dal and naming it for his late father, former Chief Minister Biju Patnaik.6
He had been sworn in as Chief Minister on 5 March 2000, and this win extended what became a run continuing until 2024.7
BJD went on to win every Odisha election from 2000 through 2019, a run this 2004 result carried on.6
- 6Naveen Patnaik Founds the Biju Janata Dal — Biju Janata Dal, Naveen Patnaik