Biju Janata Dal Joins Opposition Protest Against Chief Election Commissioner

The Biju Janata Dal broke its long-standing policy of keeping an equal distance from both the ruling party and the Congress-led Opposition on Tuesday by joining an INDIA bloc protest march in Delhi. BJD chief Naveen Patnaik directed party MPs in the Rajya Sabha to join the demonstration demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.

Protest Details

Manas Mangaraj, the BJD leader in the Rajya Sabha, stated that the party joined as a responsible Opposition group because the exclusion of over 20 lakh voters in Odisha and more than 13 crore voters nationwide through the SIR process raised serious concerns that were done deliberately. Mangaraj clarified that the regional party remains outside the formal INDIA bloc. The move follows the BJP ending the BJD's 24-year rule in Odisha and winning 20 of the 21 Lok Sabha seats in the state during the 2024 elections, where the BJD failed to win a single seat. Trinamool Congress MP Derek O'Brien expressed gratitude on X to Naveen Patnaik for sending MPs Manas Mangaraj and Sulata Deo along with former MP Muzibulla Khan to the march.

Party Shift

BJD insiders noted that the decision reflects public mood, as the poll panel faces a credibility crisis and intense public scrutiny over perceived favouritism toward the BJP. Sulata Deo stated that the party received no concrete reply from the Election Commission after pointing out major discrepancies following the 2024 polls, including differences between total votes polled at booths and EVM count numbers, vote count variations between simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly polls, and large gaps between polling-day turnout figures and final figures released two days later. The BJD has gradually altered its strategy since losing power by ending issue-based support to the NDA, staging a Rajya Sabha walkout over NEET in July 2024, joining a March 2025 meeting called by DMK leader and then Tamil Nadu CM M K Stalin against the Delimitation Bill, fielding a joint Rajya Sabha candidate with Congress earlier this year, supporting calls for Dharmendra Pradhan to resign as Union Education Minister, and protesting against the Mines and Minerals Act. Senior BJP leader Biranchi Narayan Tripathy criticised the shift, stating the BJD faces an existential crisis and uses non-issues to stay relevant.

Context

This political realignment by a prominent regional party highlights how electoral defeats often force shifts in long-term legislative strategies. The BJD's pivot illustrates the fluid nature of state-level alliances in Indian politics when regional players lose executive power at home.