BJP races to majority mark in Odisha assembly with leads on 76 seats

The BJP was also ahead with 17 of the 21 Lok Sabha seats as compared to the BJD’s 3. The Congress was ahead on one seat.

Updated on: Jun 4, 2024, 15:15:01 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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Bhubaneswar: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) raced ahead of the Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and crossed the halfway point in the Odisha assembly by 11:30 am, leading on 76 of the state’s 147 assembly seats. The BJD was ahead on 53 seats.

Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan during a public meeting in support of JBP candidate ahead of the last phase of Lok Sabha polls (ANI FILE PHOTO)

The BJP was also ahead with 17 of the 21 Lok Sabha seats as compared to the BJD’s 3. The Congress was ahead on one seat.

Chief minister Naveen Patnaik was leading in Hijili, but trailing behind BJP’s Laxman Bag in Kantabanji assembly constituency.

Of the trends available in 144 of the 147 assembly seats, BJP candidates were ahead on 76 seats as the party inched towards the majority mark of 74. BJD was trailing at 53 seats with Congress in third position with 12 seats.

According to the leads, the BJP is doing extremely well in northern, southern and western Odisha where it fought on its poll plank of Odia Asmita (Odia pride) as it targeted Naveen Patnaik’s deputy VK Pandian, a Tamil Nadu-born former IAS officer who it claimed would succeed the five-time chief minister.

To be sure, Patnaik did try to carry out a course correction when he ruled out Pandian as his successor towards the end of the campaign but the damage had been done.

The BJD also aimed at denting the BJD’s support base among women who have backed Patnaik’s party in the past. The BJP had also promised women in the age group of 23 and 59 years a cash voucher of ₹50,000 through the Subhadra Yojana.

In the Lok Sabha elections, BJP was leading in Sambalpur, Balasore, Aska, Bargarh, Bhubaneswar, Bolangir, Sundargarh, Jagatsinghpur, Kalahandi, Puri, Berhampur, Mayurbhanj, Bhadrak, Dhenkanal, Nabarngpur, Cuttack and Kendrapara and Keonjhar while BJD led in Jajpur and Aska Lok Sabha seats. The Congress led in Koraput Lok Sabha constituency.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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