Bhubaneswar: Senior BJP leader and Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan strongly criticized BJD president Naveen Patnaik on Sunday for his misleading remarks about the delimitation exercise.

Following the failure of the 131st Constitution Amendment Bill in the Lok Sabha, Patnaik stated that the BJD opposed any reduction of Odisha’s political power through delimitation. “People are indeed shocked that not a single BJP MP from Odisha raised their voice against this injustice. BJD will always continue to fight for the rights of Odisha,” he remarked.

In response, Pradhan expressed his surprise at Patnaik’s comments in a post on X, stating, “Such remarks from a leader of his stature create confusion among the people of Odisha. After the delimitation exercise, the number of Lok Sabha seats in Odisha would have increased by 50 percent from 21 to 31,” he explained.

Previously, the BJD president had communicated with Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and all Odisha MPs, arguing that implementation of the Bill would decrease Odisha’s representation in the Lok Sabha from 3.9 percent to 3.4 percent.

Pradhan dismissed Patnaik’s claims as “baseless and laughable,” noting that during the discussions on the 131st Constitution Amendment Bill in Parliament on April 16 and 17, Home Minister Amit Shah had assured that the representation of all states, including Odisha, would increase by 50 percent.

He emphasized that Lok Sabha seats from Odisha would have risen from 21 to 32, and at least 11 women would have had the opportunity to represent Odisha as new MPs due to women’s reservation. Pradhan pointed out that Odisha’s current share in the Lok Sabha is 3.87 percent, which would have increased to 3.91 percent after delimitation.