History
Naveen Patnaik took over his father's Lok Sabha seat in 1996 as a member of the Janata Dal. In 1997, Patnaik split from Janata Dal over its failure to ally with the BJP, and formed the BJD in December 1997. The BJD has participated in several ruling coalitions with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) both at the Centre and in Orissa. The BJD, however, was one of the main professedly secular parties of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Much of the popularity and electoral success of the party is credited to Patnaik's image as an incorruptible and 'clean' candidate.
Read more about this topic: Biju Janata Dal
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