Bhubaneswar: The BJP is heading to sweep the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in Odisha with substantial lead in 19 of 21 seats after almost eight hours of counting on Tuesday.
Pradeep Purohit is leading by the highest margin of over 2.2 lakh votes against BJP turncoat Parinita Mishra, who contested the elections on BJD ticket, in Bargarh.
In Mayurbhanj, BJP’s Naba Charan Majhi is also leading by over 1.5 lakh against BJD’s heavyweight leader Sudam Marndi. The saffron party’s decision to nominate the Rairangpur MLA from the seat by dropping the sitting MP, Bishweswar Tudu, seems to be paying dividends here.
Former Union Minister Jual Oram close third with a lead of 1.3 lakh votes against hockey legend Dilip Tirkey of BJD in Sundargarh. Malvika Keshari Deo is also ahead of her BJD rival Lambodar Nial in Kalahandi by over 1.1 lakh votes
Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has taken a lead of over 1.1 lakh over BJD organisational secretary Pranab Prakash Das in Sambalpur LS seat.
In the battle of turncoats in Berhampur, BJP’s Pradeep Panigrahi is leading by 1,00,809 votes against his BJD rival Bhrugu Baxipatra.
Sangeet Singh Deo is set for a third term as Parliamentarian from Balangir seat. She has a lead of 94,827 votes over Congress turncoat Surendra Singh Bhoi, who contested his first Lok Sabha election on BJD ticket this time.
Sambit Patra, who almost pulled off a stunning upset over four-time MP and lawyer Pinaki Misra in Puri in 2019 elections taking the fight to the last rounds of counting and lost by a slender margin of 11,714 votes, is leading by 90,981 votes against BJD’s Arup Patnaik, the former Mumbai police commissioner who had lost the last polls from Bhubaneswar to BJP’s IAS-turned-politician Aparajita.
BJP’s Balabhadra Majhi have been able to keep another BJD heavyweight Pradeep Majhi in check with a lead of 78,800 votes.
Former union minister Pratap Sarangi has managed to keep the BJP vote intact and is leading by 76,758 against his former party colleague Lekhasri Samantsinghar, who contested the polls on BJD ticket.
Ananta Nayak of the saffron party is leading by 86,231 votes against BJD’s Dhanurjay Sidu in Keonjhar and so also, Avimanyu Sethi by 65,961 votes against sitting BJD MLA from Bhadrak Majulata Mandal.
BJP’s Anita Subhadarshini has been able to breach the Ask fort of BJD with a lead of 60,405 votes against Ranjita Sahu of the regional party.
In Dhenkanal, Rudra Narayan Pany is leading by48,743 votes against political greenhorn Abinash Samal of BJD.
Bhartruhari Mahtab is heading for a seventh consecutive victory from Cuttack albeit on BJP ticket having maintained a lead of 36,920 against corporate veteran Santrupt Misra of BJD.
Bibhu Prasad Tarai, who lost the last elections to BJD’s Mahesh Sahoo, is leading by 30,922 votes in Dhenkanal. Sitting BJP MP from Bhubaneswar Aparajita Sarangi has a lead of 31,000 votes over BJD’s Manmath Routray.
BJP national vice president Baijayant Panda is leading by 24,907 votes in Kendrapada, the seat which he had won in 2009 and 2014 on BJD ticket but lost in 2019 after joining BJP following a fallout with Naveen Patnaik. Congress turncoat Anshuman Mohanty is the BJD candidate from the seat.
In Kandhamal, Sukanta Panigrahi is ahead of the sitting BJD MP Achyuta Samanta by 11,578 votes as counting continues.
Sarmistha Sethi is the only siting MP of BJD who is leading with 4,941 votes in Jajpur. Congress’ Saptagiri Ulaka has improved his lead by 82,351 votes in Koraput, which he won in 2019.
In 2019 elections, the BJD had won 12 LS seats while BJP managed to clinch 8, leaving Congress with one.
