Naveen Patnaik Restructures BJD After Odisha Loss, New Appointments To Be Announced Soon

After facing unprecedented rout in assembly and Lok Sabha elections in the Odisha, Biju Janata Dal (BJD) president Naveen Patnaik has announced a restructuring of the party on Sunday (7 July).

This restructuring aims to address the electoral setback and will include making fresh appointments within the party, as per a report by The Economic Times.

The party has dissolved all of its state-level office bearers, with new appointments to be made soon, while district-level BJD office bearers will remain in their positions.

As part of the changes, 14 leaders have been appointed as state-level spokespersons: Prasanna Acharya, Pramila Mallik, Debi Prasad Mishra, Pratap Keshari Deb, Arun Kumar Sahoo, Captain Dibya Shankar Mishra, Devi Ranjan Tripathy, Shrimayee Sweta Snigdha Mishra, Lekhashree Samantsinghar, Sudam Marndi, Sulata Deo, Ramesh Chandra Majhi, Bhrugu Baxipatra and Lenin Mohanty.

At the national level, Santrupt Misra, Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo, Amar Patnaik, Sasmit Patra, and Pradeep Kumar Majhi have been appointed as spokespersons for the BJD.

Additionally, Santrupt Misra will serve as the political secretary to Naveen Patnaik.

Other key appointments include Pratap Jena as the senior state media coordinator, Swayam Prakash as the social media coordinator, and Lenin Mohanty and Priyabrata Majhi as media coordinators.

Sukant Kumar Panda has been appointed as the public relations officer to Naveen Patnaik who is also the Leader of the Opposition in state assembly.

In the 18th Lok Sabha elections, the BJD faced a significant setback, failing to secure any of the 21 seats, while the BJP won 20 seats and Congress secured one. In the state assembly elections, the BJD won 51 out of 147 seats, while the BJP won a majority with 78 seats.

The Biju Janata Dal, which has governed Odisha since 1997, lost to the BJP, ending Naveen Patnaik's 24-year tenure as chief minister.