The Biju Janata Dal on Monday said that it would no longer give issue-based support to the Bharatiya Janata Party, and would instead act as a "vibrant and strong" opposition in the Rajya Sabha, PTI reported.

The Biju Janata Dal did not win any seat in the recently-concluded Lok Sabha election. However, it has nine MPs in the Rajya Sabha.

Biju Janata Dal chief Naveen Patnaik on Monday held a meeting with his party’s Rajya Sabha MPs. During the meeting, Patnaik asked them to fight for the rights of the people of Odisha in Parliament, the Biju Janata Dal’s leader in the Rajya Sabha Sasmit Patra said, according to PTI.

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To a question on whether the party would stick to its stance of providing issue-based support to the Centre, Patra said: “No more support to BJP, only opposition. We may go to any extent to protect the interests of Odisha.”

He was further quoted as saying by PTI: “The BJD president asked us to act as a strong and vibrant opposition if the NDA government continues to ignore the genuine demands of Odisha.”

Over the last few years, the Biju Janata Dal has supported the Bharatiya Janata Party in several matters, even though the two parties are rivals in Odisha. The regional party had supported the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act – which fast-tracks Indian citizenship for refugees from six minority religious communities – and the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution, which provided special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.

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The party also supported BJP leader and Union Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw’s candidature from the Rajya Sabha in 2019 and 2024.

This is the first time that the Biju Janata Dal will not have any MPs in the Lower House since its formation in 1997.

The party also lost the Odisha Assembly election that was held simultaneously with the general election. The BJP formed the government in the state for the first time, bringing an end to the Biju Janata Dal’s rule since 2000.