The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) is a state political party of the Indian state of Odisha led by Naveen Patnaik, son of former state chief minister Biju Patnaik. It was founded on 26 December 1997.Naveen Patnaik took over his father Biju Pattnaiks 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 Odisha. The BJD, however, was one of the main professedly secular parties of the National Democratic Alliance .