The Biju Janata Dal Member of Parliament from Kendrapara Lok Sabha constituency of Odisha, Baijayant “Jai” Panda is among the new breed of politicians who are redefining Indian politics. Though this has been his maiden entry into the lower house, he was elected twice to the Rajya Sabha earlier. Son of illustrious industrialist Bansidhar Panda, he majored in Scientific and Technical Communications from Michigan Technological University, USA, before he chose to enter politics.

On a balmy evening at his Mahadev Road official residence in New Delhi, Jai Panda, the popular face of Odisha at the national-level politics, spoke to KalingaTimes.com about various aspects of Odisha politics and the strategy of development adopted by his party in the state.