Giridhar Gamang (born 8 April 1943) is an Indian politician who is a leader in the Indian National Congress and a former Chief Minister of Odisha. He was born at Dibirisingi village in Rayagada district of Odisha. In 1972, he was elected for the first time to the 5th Lok Sabha from Koraput. Subsequently, he was re-elected to the Lok Sabha in 1977, 1980, 1984, 1989, 1991, 1996, 1998 and 2004. He was the Chief Minister of Odisha from 17 February 1999 to 6 December 1999.
His wife, Hema Gamang, won from Koraput constituency in the 1999 elections to the 13th Lok Sabha, while he was serving as the Chief Minister of Odisha.
In 1998, while he was a member of the 12th parliament, he was asked to become Chief minister of Odisha. Two months later, there was a vote-of-confidence against the BJP government and Giridhar still went to the parliament to vote against the government as he was from congress (despite the fact that he had to quit either being CM or the MP office and become MLA, within six months). The government lost power by one vote (269–270) and it is widely believed that if Giridhar had abstained, the speaker, G. M. C. Balayogi would have used his vote to save the government in case of tie. The fall of government resulted in another fresh general election in May 1999.
He lost the Koraput seat for the first time in the 2009 elections to Jayaram Pangi of the Biju Janata Dal.
He had briefly joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2015, was thought to be their potential Chief Ministerial candidate before being disregarded from consideration by the party. He quit Bharatiya Janata Party and joined Bharat Rashtra Samithi in 2023.
Elections Contested Lok Sabha Year ConstituencyParty Votes % OpponentOpponent Party Opponent Votes % Result Margin % 2014Koraput 375,781 37.98 Jhina Hikaka 395,109 39.93 -19,328 -1.95 2009 216,416 28.37 Jayaram Pangi 312,776 41 -96,360 -12.63 2004 334,746 45.5 Papanna Mutika 291,481 39.62 43,265 5.88 1998 267,425 53.92Jayaram Pangi 185,909 37.48 81,516 16.44 1996 301,241 57.59 163,588 31.27 137,653 26.32 1991 234,501 66.14 92,907 26.21 141,594 39.93 1989 200,126 56.41 154,673 43.59 45,453 12.82 1984 154,713 68.52 Labanyo Saboro 54,891 24.31 99,822 44.21 1980 97,194 64.6 Jayaram Pangi 32,876 21.85 64,318 42.75 1977 78,494 55.06 Papanna Mutika 64,065 44.94 14,429 10.12 1972 Koraput(by-election) 72,306 60.87 B. Mallana 46,479 39.12 25,827 21.75
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