Bhubaneswar: The BJD is heading for a landslide victory in the Panchayat polls, smashing all previous records by miles.
According to the trends emerging on the last and final day of counting on Monday, the Conch party is leading/winning in 764 of 852 Zilla Parishad (ZP) zones while the tally (win plus lead) of BJP and Congress is 42 and 38 zones, respectively.
The State Election Commission (SEC) held counting of votes for 307 ZP seats on Sunday and 315 ZP seats on Saturday. The counting is currently underway for the remaining 230 seats.
After Day 2 of counting and results from 620 of 852 zones, the ruling party has taken an unassailable lead of 552. BJP has won 31 seats and Congress close third at 30 while others have seven seats in their kitty.
Of the 315 ZP seats, the BJD has won 282, BJP 15, Congress 14 and others 4. Similarly, the Conch party has won 270 of 305 seats for which results have been declared after counting on day 2, with the opposition BJP and Congress far behind at 16 each. The Independent/others have won 3 seats.
Day-1 results
Total ZP Members-315
Results Declared-315
BJD-282, BJP-15, INC-14, IND-2, Others-2
Day-2 results
Total ZP Members -305
Results declared- 305
BJD -270, BJP – 16, INC – 16, IND – 01, Others – 02
Considering this trend, the BJD is likely to surpass its 2012 tally of 651 and form Parishads in all 30 districts of the state, including the saffron party bastions of western Odisha, Mayubhanj and Malkangiri.
Also Read: Odisha Panchayat Polls: BJD Set To Break 2012 Record
The BJP had won 169 of 212 Zilla Parishad seats in Balangir, Nuapada, Sonepur, Kalahandi, Bargarh, Sambalpur, Deogarh, Sundargarh, Malkangiri and Mayurbhanj, which took its total to 297 in 2017. The BJD has almost reversed the results here with the trends indicating an 80 per cent win in these districts.
Compared to 2017, it is a gain of 228 seats for the BJD, whose tally had then dropped to 476. While BJP has lost 225 ZP seats, Congress is down to 38 from 60 in the last rural election. Notably, Congress and the BJP had failed to open an account in around 20 districts after the first round of counting.
For all three parties, the outcome of the rural elections may have a direct bearing on their performance in the upcoming urban polls and 2024 general and assembly elections.
