Party hit in rural polls, but Odisha CM defiant

Bhubaneswar: Despite his party, Biju Janata Dal (BJD), losing nearly 200 crucial Zilla Parishad seats in Odisha rural polls, seen as the semifinal before the 2019 assembly polls, Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday put up a brave front saying the BJD had emerged number one in the poll.

“The BJD is still number one choice of voters in Odisha. Although we have lost some seats in comparison to our 2012 figure, our candidates have won from maximum number of seats. This reflects that our party enjoys the confidence more number of people than the opposition parties. We will try to improve our performance in the seats where our candidates have lost elections,” Mr Patnaik said while addressing party legislators minutes before the budget session of the state Assembly began with the governor’s address.

The five-phase rural polls which concluded on Tuesday witnessed the BJD for the first time in its 17 years of rule facing serious challenge to its hegemony from the BJP. The saffron party, which had got only 36 Zilla Parishad seats in 2012, gave the BJD a run for its money this time by bagging 307 seats. The Odisha CM blamed his Chhattisgarh counterpart Raman Singh for “waging a misinformation campaign on the Mahanadi row.”

“The Chhattisgarh CM fed all wrong information to the people of Odisha during his poll campaign in the western parts of the state. The BJD will fight it politically,” Mr Patnaik said.

While appreciating the party MLAs who led the party’s official nominees to victory in their respective constituencies, Naveen also indicated actions against the ministers and law makers where the party nominees failed to register win.

Emerging out of the BJD Legislature Party (BJDLP) meeting, - Mr Patnaik said he would give his reaction on the poll results only after outcome of the five-phase elections are announced on February 25.