Lok Sabha Elections 2019: Numbers, names and issues in Odisha
BJD president and chief minister Naveen Patnaik broke ties with the NDA in 2009 and the BJP has been unable to get back its original organisational strength in Odisha to become a political alternative.
The Lok Sabha elections will be held in 7 phases starting April 11. Counting of votes will take place on May 23.
The Lok Sabha election 2019 and assembly polls are likely to be held simultaneously in the coastal eastern state of Odisha, where the ruling BJD has held the fort for nearly two decades now.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been working towards getting a foothold in Odisha, identified as one of the priority states ahead of the polls, and prepared a blueprint with the twin objective of strengthening the organisation and gaining mass support in the state.
BJD president and chief minister Naveen Patnaik broke ties with the NDA in 2009 and the BJP has been unable to get back its original organisational strength in Odisha to become a political alternative.
Odisha has 21 parliamentary constituencies and the BJD had won 20 of them in 2014. The BJP had won only one seat, Sundargarh, represented by Union minister for tribal affairs Jual Oram, but the party placed second in another nine seats concentrated in western Odisha. The Bharatiya Janata Party is on track to eclipse the Congress as the principal opposition party in the state.
In 2016, the BJP put in a very strong showing in Odisha’s local body elections, winning 297 of the state’s 849 Zilla Parishad seats up for the contest and eight of 30 council chairperson positions — trailing only next to the BJD. The Congress party finished a distant third.
Here are the numbers, names and issues ahead of the general election this year:
Polling dates: April 11, April 18, April 23, April 29
Date of counting: May 23
Ruling party/coalition in the state: Biju Janata Dal
Number of Lok Sabha seats in the state: 21
Party wise break-up of the Lok Sabha seats: BJD-20, BJP-1
Number of voters in the state: 3.18 crore
Voter turnout in 2014: 73.75%
Number of assembly seats: 147
Party wise break-up of assembly seats: BJD-118, Cong-16, BJP-10, Independents and others-3
Key leaders across parties: Naveen Patnaik (BJD), Bhartruhari Mahtab (BJD), Prasanna Acharya (BJD), Dharmendra Pradhan (BJP), Baijayant Panda (BJP), Aparajita Sarangi (BJP), Niranjan Patnaik (Congress), Narasingha Mishra (Congress)
* Key issues: Farmer distress, rising sexual violence against women, corruption in government offices, rising unemployment and failure of government in returning money to chit fund depositors.
