Patna, or Patnagarh, was a princely state

Princely state

A Princely State was a nominally sovereign entitity of British rule in India that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule such as suzerainty or paramountcy.-British relationship with the Princely States:India under the British Raj ...

 in India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, with its capital at Balangir

Balangir

For Balangir District See : Balangir DistrictBalangir', is a city and municipality in Balangir district in the state of Orissa, India. It is also the headquarter of Balangir district.-Overview:...

 (also spelt Bolangir). Its area was 6503 square kilometre. Until 1947, it was not part of British India but was subject to the suzerainty

Suzerainty

Suzerainty occurs where a region or people is a tributary to a more powerful entity which controls its foreign affairs while allowing the tributary vassal state some limited domestic autonomy. The dominant entity in the suzerainty relationship, or the more powerful entity itself, is called a...

 of the British crown, under the Orissa States Agency.

In 1947, at the time of the Indian independence, Patna's ruler did not accede to the newly independent Union of India. However, he acceded to India in 1948. The present day Balangir district

Balangir District

Balangir District, also called Bolangir District, is a district situated in the western orissa region of India. The district has an area of 5,165 km², and a population of 1,335,760 . The town of Balangir is the district headquarters...

 is almost coterminous with the boundaries of the former state.

The last ruler of Patna, Rajendra Narayan Singh Deo

Rajendra Narayan Singh Deo

Maharaja Rajendra Narayan Singh Deo was an Indian politician and the last ruler of the princely state of Patna in Orissa before Indian independence in 1947...

, built a new career as an elected politician and served as Chief Minister of Orissa from 8 March 1967 to 9 January 1971.