BJD-BJP picks up 18 of 21 seats

Defying the anti-NDA wave in most parts of country, the BJD-BJP combine swept the LS polls in Orissa capturing 18 of the 21seats.

Defying the anti-NDA wave in most parts of country, the BJD-BJP combine swept the Lok Sabha polls in Orissa capturing 17 of the 20 seats, the results of which were declared till 2.00 am on Thursday.

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The Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal had already won 10 of the 12 it contested while BJP was victorious in seven of the nine seats it contested.

The only seat from where the result was yet to be declared was Jajpur where the BJD candidate was leading the Congress rival.

Unlike in other parts of the country, Congress, which had two seats in the dissolved Lok Sabha from Orissa, failed to improve its tally as the party has so far won only two seats, Berhampur and Koraput (ST), while its poll partner JMM emerged victorious in Mayurbhanj (ST) seat.

All the three union ministers - Jual Oram of BJP, Arjun Charan Shetty and Brajakishore Tripathy of BJD won the elections.

Oram was returned from Sundergarh (ST), while Tripathy was re-elected from Puri. Sethi returned from Bhadrak seat.

Former Chief Minister Giridhar Gamang of Congress pulled off his ninth victory from the Koraput seat.

The seats captured by BJD are - Bhadrak (SC), Cuttack, Puri, Aska, Dhenkanal, Phulbani (SC), Jagatsinghpur, Bhubaneswar, Kendrapara and Sambalpur.

BJP, on the other hand, won Baleswar, Bolangir, Deogarh, Sundergarh (ST), Kalahandi, Nawrangpur and Keonjhar (ST) seats.