Cutting short his United Kingdom visit after reports of revolt in the party in his absence, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday held a series of meetings with Biju Janata Dal leaders, some of whom claimed there was an attempt to topple the government during a meeting at party MP Pyari Mohan Mohapatra's house in Bhubaneswar.
Shortly after reaching the national capital, Naveen Patnaik held deliberations with party MPs Baijayant Panda and Pinaki Mishra and said he would also consult his party members after reaching Bhubaneswar in the evening. "I will certainly see what has to be done," he said
With the Biju Janata Dal and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam indicating their preference for P A Sangma as presidential candidate, the Nationalist Congress Party leader on Thursday thanked them saying they have been responsive to the aspirations of tribals and appealed to other parties to support a candidate from the community.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's move to get reservation for women in legislatures promises to shape the political discourse ahead of key state polls and Lok Sabha elections, and a parliamentary approval to the long-contested proposal will be used by the Bharatiya Janata Party to burnish his credentials as a decisive leader.
With the fate of kidnapped Jhina Hikaka still unknown after almost three weeks the Odisha government is exploring back-channel negotiations with the Maoist group, which has imposed tough conditions for the release of the ruling Biju Janata Dal tribal member of Legislative Assembly Jhina Hikaka.
The abductors of Biju Janata Dal member of Legislative Assembly Jhina Hikaka on Thursday turned down the Odisha government's request to name negotiators for talks, while parleys for the release of Italian Paolo Bosusco from Maoist captivity remained stalled as the rebels' mediators alleged delaying tactics by the authorities.
Biju Janata Dal member of Legislative Assembly Jhina Hikaka was kidnapped as his party did not honour a "secret deal" struck with the Maoist-backed Chasi Mulia Adivasi Sangha during the recent Zilla Parishad elections, opposition Congress Chief Whip Prasad Harichandan alleged on Tuesday.
The Odisha assembly has a strength of 147 MLAs while there are 21 Lok Sabha MP seats in the state.
Unable to persuade former Odisha law minister and dowry torture accused Raghunath Mohanty to surrender, the ruling Biju Janata Dal on Friday asked him to respect the law of the land or face consequences. "Through the media, I will like to request Raghunath Mohanty to cooperate with the law before the matter gets more complicated," government Deputy Whip Sanjay Dasburma told reporters.
Cracking the whip, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday summarily expelled eight of its MPs who cross-voted or abstained during the trust vote as shocked opposition parties got down to fix errant MPs whose actions helped the United Progressive Alliance government survive.
Three of the fence-sitters rule fairly large states Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Odisha that together send 63 members to Lok Sabha -- where the Congress or other opposition parties have been pushed to the margins.
The BJD's candidate selection was based on several permutation and combination, a party leader said adding that apart from being a green horn and a woman, Barsha will get sympathy vote.
The Bharatiya Janata Party -led National Democratic Alliance on Friday indicated that it will try to mobilise support of non-Congress parties for A P J Abdul Kalam, whose name has been floated by SP and Trinamool Congress.
Under attack for allegedly shielding accused persons in Pipili gangrape case, Odisha's Agriculture Minister Pradip Maharathy on Thursday resigned on 'moral ground' and in the 'interest' of the ruling Biju Janata Dal ahead of next month's panchayat elections.
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday became president of the ruling Biju Janata Dal for the fifth consecutive time unopposed.
A day after losing the battle with the United Progressive Alliance government in Parliament on the issue of allowing foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail, the National Democratic Alliance has threatened to reject the Union government's notification if it is voted to power in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
In 2002, Naveen Patnaik recommended cancellation of a coal block allotted to a south-based company and allotment of the same block to the Jindals, that too for the setting up of a sponge iron plant. What was the urgency and consideration for this,' asks Pyarimohan Mohapatra
Terming the severe floods in Orissa as man-made, Congress on Tuesday accused Biju Janata Dal government in the state of failing to provide relief to marooned people after exposing its inability in preventing the calamity.
Politically, BJD chief Naveen Patnaik has grown so amazingly fast that today he is on steady ground to give a hard punch to the BJP.
In a bid to suppress dissidence, Biju Janata Dal supremo and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday suspended Jagneswar from the regional outfit on charge of anti-party activities.
Odisha Chief Minister and Biju Janata Dal supremo Naveen Patnaik on Thursday ruled out his party's support to the UPA government at the Centre which was facing "instability" following Trinamool Congress' decision to withdraw support.
Murmu's vote share is now likely to go past 61 per cent, while it was earlier estimated to be around 50 per cent at the time of her nomination.
Four-time Odisha MP Pinaki Misra's wedding to firebrand TMC MP Mahua Moitra in a quiet, intimate ceremony that chose privacy and tradition over fanfare, was a reflection of his personal style.
Declaring that the Prime Ministerial candidate of the Third Front would be decided after the elections, Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati hosted a dinner for the leaders of the grouping and resolved to defeat the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance and the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Deomocratic Alliance.
The Bharatiya Janata Party is likely to project senior leader Dharmendra Pradhan, 40, as its chief ministerial candidate in Orissa after its alliance with the Naveen Patnaik led Biju Janata Dal came to an end on March 7.The BJP's central election committee on Friday cleared its six sitting MPs to seek re-election, with the exception of Pradhan's constituency Deogarh, leading to speculations that he will be the party's CM candidate for the assembly elections.
The disquiet over the Kandhamal riots, mutually acceptable seat-sharing for the Lok Sabha polls and the poor show of the saffron ally in recent civic elections could have contributed in equal measure to the parting of ways between Biju Janata Dal and the Bharatiya Janata Party after 11 years.
The new political alignments in Orissa are not a sudden development. Low-key consultations between Chief Minister and Biju Janata Dal chief Naveen Patnaik and Communist Party of India - Marxist politburo member Sitaram Yechury had been on even before March 5, though it was on that day the two leaders spoke to each other directly.However, the two leaders decided not to interact for the next few days fearing that their high-profile meetings would alert the BJP.
With the Bharatiya Janata Party losing Biju Janata Dal as an ally in Orissa, the Congress on Monday gloated over the plight of its principal challenger alleging National Democratic Alliance was "virtually non-existent" and there was "no serious challenge" to the United Progressive Alliance in the Lok Sabha polls.
In a major blow to the National Democratic Alliance, the Biju Janata Dal announced on Saturday that it had split from the Bharatiya Janata Dal, over failure to reach a seat sharing deal for the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls."The BJP-BJD will contest separately," Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik told reporters, adding that 'winnability' was the reason behind the break up in the decade-old alliance.
Suspended Biju Janata Dal MLA Prabhat Biswal's vote in presidential election was rejected for allegedly showing the ballot paper after voting as polling in the 147-member Odisha assembly was under way today.
Describing P A Sangma as a prominent tribal and minority leader, Odisha Chief Minister and Biju Janata Dal supremo Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday said he would accompany the Presidential aspirant during filing of his nomination in Delhi on Thursday. "Sangma is the BJD's candidate. We first announced his name for the top post in mid-May and later other political parties supported him," Patnaik told reporters shortly before leaving for Delhi.
Orissa MP Jay Panda defends his state's anti-Maoist record.
Here are how the numbers are stack up in the lower house if the no-confidence motion takes place.
The Bharatiya Janata Party and ruling Congress members clashed on Wednesday in the Rajya Sabha over the issue of attack on Christians in Orissa, leading to abrupt adjournment of the House.
A day after his release from Maoist captivity, Biju Janata Dal member of Legislative Assembly Jhina Hikaka on Friday did not rule out the possibility of resigning his membership of Odisha assembly and said he had twice written to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on the issue.
According to media reports, abducted Biju Janata Dal Member of Legislative Assembly Jhina Hikaka will be released on Thursday in Koraput district of Odisha at 10 am. Reports say that the decision was taken at a Maoist 'people's court'. The Naxals have also asked Hikaka to 'resign'.
With the Maoists firm on their demands and determined to keep Biju Janata Dal Member of Legislative Assembly Jhina Hikaka hostage till April 25, the Odisha government on Saturday said it would welcome anyone volunteering to negotiate with them. The statement came after the Maoist Andhra Odisha Border Special Zonal Committee said in a message that the fate of the MLA would be decided at a praja court by April 25.
Maoists on Thursday produced abducted ruling Biju Janata Dal MLA Jhina Hikaka before a people's court to decide his fate, a day after the Odisha government said it would withdraw cases against 13 prisoners in exchange for freedom of the tribal legislator.
The Supreme Court on Thursday sought a response from the Centre and the Odisha government on a petition seeking to restrain the release of jailed Maoists in exchange for captive Biju Janata Dal MLA Jina Hikaka.
With the deadline set by the Maoists holding Biju Janata Dal MLA Jhina Hikaka hostage ending on Wednesday, his fate still remained unknown despite the Odisha government's decision to seriously consider withdrawal of prosecution in "suitable cases" involving jailed rebels if the ultras free the legislator.
