Odisha: Former BJD MP Amar Patnaik joins BJP

Amar Patnaik, the former accountant general of Odisha, who had joined the BJD in August 2018 and served as Rajya Sabha MP from 2019 to 2024, was once entrusted with heading the party’s IT Cell

Published on: Nov 3, 2025, 15:32:10 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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Bhubaneswar: Former Biju Janata Dal (BJD) Rajya Sabha MP Amar Patnaik joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday—a defection that laid bare the deepening crisis within Odisha’s once-dominant regional force.

Patnaik’s induction at the BJP state headquarters came even as BJD chief and former chief minister Naveen Patnaik was addressing a meeting in Nuapada ahead of the assembly bypoll on November 11.

Amar Patnaik, the former accountant general of Odisha, who had joined the BJD in August 2018 and served as Rajya Sabha MP from 2019 to 2024, was once entrusted with heading the party’s IT Cell.

After joining the BJP at a function in the party’s state office in Bhubaneswar, Patnaik described the move as a life-changing moment in his political journey. “I left my job eight years ago to serve the people of Odisha directly. I worked hard in the Rajya Sabha to raise their issues. Now I feel it is time to contribute to nation-building,” he said.

In August, Patnaik as BJD spokesperson had said that his party would approach the Orissa high court over alleged vote discrepancies in 2024 assembly and Lok Sabha polls. He said the BJD had raised three critical points: more votes counted than cast in electronic voting machines (EVMs), significant differences between parliamentary and assembly constituency vote counts despite simultaneous polling, and other irregularities.

Patnaik’s defection is not an isolated incident. Since June 2024, at least half a dozen leaders have left the party including Rajya Sabha MPs Mamata Mohanta and Sujit Kumar, who joined the BJP and were re-elected as MPs. Similarly, former Rajya Sabha MP N Bhaskar Rao, former MLA Sunanda Das and former minister Lal Bihari Himrika have quit the regional party.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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