Insight Bureau: While the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) is all set to create history by winning over 750 out of 851 Zilla Parishad Zones in the state, main opposition BJP, which had won 297 seats in 2017, is struggling to get past even the 50 mark!
Trends have been received for all 851 seats so far. BJD is winning/leading in 764 seats while BJP is ahead in 42 seats. Will the saffron party cross the 50 mark? It remains a big question now.
BJP lost its grip in all Western Odisha districts as well as Mayurbhanj. Out of 56 Zilla Parishad seats in Mayurbhanj, BJP failed to win even a single seat despite having 6 MLAs and one MP, who is the Union Minister, from the district. In 2017, BJP had swept Mayurbhanj by winning 49 out of 56 seats.
BJP has so far won/led some decent number of seats only in Bargarh (7) and Balasore (5) although these numbers don’t bring any relief to them.
With such a dismal and terrible performance in Panchayat Polls, BJP can’t expect anything better in Urban Local Body polls, which will be held on March 24. With less than a month to go, BJD looks confident and well-prepared to secure another landslide victory.
