Determinants of Electoral Choice in Odisha

A Review

Abstract

What determines electoral choice has drawn a lot of interest among scholars ever since the behavioural revolution in political science. Electoral politics in Odisha in the recent decade is marked by the continued dominance of Biju Janata Dal under the leadership of Naveen Patnaik along with the rise in vote share of Bharatiya Janata party and the fall of Congress. What factors are responsible for the overwhelming victory of a regional party vis-a-vis the national parties in Odisha? This article has reviewed various election studies since 2004 to find out the key determinants of electoral choice in Odisha. While the major factors behind the BJDs victory are Naveen Patnaiks leadership, his welfare policies and voters satisfaction with the performance of his government, the lack of state-level leadership and poor organisations have hampered the electoral prospects of national parties in Odisha. The Modi wave and the rightward shift in ideological middle ground after 2014 have helped the sharp rise in BJPs vote share in 2019 general election in Odisha.