Analysis of Odisha Politics

History of Odisha

From ancient times till 1936 

Odisha, or (Orissa) earlier known as ‘Utkal and Kalinga’ has a long and rich history as a geographic and cultural region. It was a part of several great empires of ancient India, including that of the Mauryas, the Guptas and the Nandas of Magadh. Odisha has withstood a lot of historical conquests including the likes of Samrat Ashok’s Kalinga War, Harsha’s conquest of Utkal. Odisha was also ruled by  other dynasties  such as Bhaumakar in the 8th century A.D. , followed by the Somas and Kesharis and the Somavamsis.

By the end of the 12th Century A.D.,  Ganga dynasty emerged on the Odishan soil, which ruled till 1435 AD. The iconic Konark Sun Temple and the Jagannath Temple at Puri was created during this time period. In the medieval ages, the Mughals, Afghans and Marathas ruled over Odisha. Ultimately, it was the British who ruled over Odisha for more than 200 years after taking the Odisha province from the Marathas by defeating them in 1803. In British rule, Odisha was confined to three coastal districts; Puri, Cuttack and Balasore besides few other princely states.

Post independence history of Odisha can be characterized by emergence of various political parties and politicians. The Government of India (Constitution of Odisha) order 1936 created a new polity of Odisha. The new province was carved out of the provinces of Bihar and Odisha, Madras and Madhya Pradesh, consisting of six districts, viz, Cuttack, Puri, Baleswar, Sambalpur, Ganjam and Koraput. The neighboring Garajats or the Princely States remained independent. 

Post-independence electoral history 

Regional parties like the Ganatantra Parishad (GP), Utkal Congress, Jana Congress emerged and influenced the political will of the people of Odisha up until the decade of 1990. However, after 1990 and from 1997 onwards Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has been the most dominant political party in the coastal state who has managed to retain power in the state with the incumbent CM Shri Naveen Patnaik being sworn in as the CM for 5 consecutive terms. 

Shri Janaki Ballav Patnaik – a luminous star who appeared in the political sky of Odisha. He rose like a new sun in the political sky of Odisha after a prolonged darkness. For this reason, he gave political stability and at a time became a revered leader of Odisha. He expressed his concern for the Odia nationalist and was one of the main architects of modern Odisha. His achievements are identified with the half century of Odishan history and has contributed to revamp the social culture of Odisha. A man of high ambition and dreams, boldness and courage, dignity and self respect, sharp intellect and ready wit, he devoted his life for the development of Odisha. 

But, perhaps no other leader occupied the imagination of the people of Orissa like Shri Biju Patnaik : freedom fighter, pilot, industrialist, politician and philanthropist. His ability to create confidence among people and inspire them was phenomenal. Shri Biju Patnaik strode Orissa’s political arena for more than four decades. Whether in power or in the opposition, he was one of the most influential politicians of the country. His illustrious political career culminated in his party’s resounding victory in the 1990 Assembly polls and he returned as Chief Minister for the second time on March 5, 1990. For the first time he completed the full term (1990-95).

The first phase of the early post-independence era in Odisha can be categorized by the domination of the Congress party. The first general elections in 1952 saw the Congress party winning a majority of seats in both the Lok Sabha (lower house of Parliament) and the state legislative assembly. During this phase, the state witnessed leadership under Shri Nabakrushna Choudhary and Shri Harekrushna Mehtab of the Congress party. From 1961 to 1975, a period of fifteen years saw 3 Chief Ministers from Congress Party and 1 Chief Minister from Swatantra Party. Post 1975, Odisha saw two popular figures that are credited with establishing the foundations of modern day Odisha: Shri Janaki Ballav Patnaik and Shri Biju (Bijayananda) Patnaik, both of the Congress Party. 

With the former being the Chief Minister of the state for a total of 12 years and the latter being for a total of 7 years respectively. The state also witnessed a non-Congress Chief Minister, Shri Nilamani Routray of the Janata Party and a woman Chief Minister in the form of Smt Nandini Satpathy of the Congress party who was Chief Minister for a total of 4 years. The state has also witnessed 6 instances of President’s Rule in the past. However, post 1999, the politics of Odisha has been dominated only and only by one party and one man: Shri Naveen Patnaik of Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and being the Chief Minister for 23 years now.

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