The 2024 General Election is a significant turning point in Odisha’s political history. The BJD and Naveen Patnaik’s twenty-four years’ continuous stint in the government came to an end. The BJP gained majority seats in the Assembly and swept all but one Lok Sabha seat. Such a remarkable shift in power was beyond the expectations of any political commentators. This chapter is an attempt to analyse and explain this change in Odisha’s electoral politics. First, we present a brief outline of the political context and a socio-economic profile of the State. Then we compare the campaign strategy of the two major parties, viz. the BJD and the BJP. We argue that political mobilization in this election has taken a cultural turn. Both the parties projected themselves as the saviours of Odia language and culture. Protection of Odia Asmita (self-respect) was the central theme of the campaign. Generous welfare pledges or linkages with social groups seemed to have limited relevance. We then present the electoral verdict, region and category-wise performance of the parties, socio-economic background of the supporters of the two major parties and the responses of the beneficiaries of major welfare schemes are presented. Finally, four possible reasons for the BJD’s defeat are presented: Personalismo at the cost of the party in the BJD, welfare hesitancy prior to the election by the BJD strategists, triggering Odia Asmita by the BJP and the Pandian factor being linked to Odia Asmita.