This political party was formed by the former rulers of the erstwhile princely states and big landlords.
[2] The roots of this party can be traced to the Koshal Utkal Praja Parishad[3] founded in October, 1948 with its headquarters at Sambalpur.
The first meeting of the Praja Parishad was held on 8, 9 and 10 October 1948 at Balibandha in Sambalpur.
[4] In the first general election in 1951, the GP won 0.91% of the total votes and 6 seats in the Lok Sabha[5] In the first general election to the Legislative Assembly of Orissa in 1952, the GP received 20.5% of the total votes and 31 seats in the Legislative Assembly.
[7] In the third general election to the Legislative Assembly of Orissa in 1961, the GP received 22.34% of the total votes and 37 seats in the Legislative Assembly[9] and Rajendra Narayan Singh Deo again became the leader of the opposition.