Massive mandate in rural polls reaffirms BJD’s commitment to ‘seva’ : Naveen

PTI, Mar 1, 2022, 4:09 PM IST

Bhubaneswar:  With BJD winning a landslide victory in the just-concluded three-tier panchayat election in the state, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Tuesday said the massive mandate for the party has increased its commitment for “seva” (service) to the people. BJD has won in 766 of the 851 zilla parishad zones where the election was held and the regional party is all set to form the zilla parishad in all the 30 districts. Patnaik tweeted, “I thank the people from the core of my heart for their liking for BJD and support to the BJD candidates.

This massive mandate has reinforced our commitment towards service of the people. The dedicated service by the winning candidates and our party workers has made the BJD a movement.” While Patnaik’s popularity is considered a major factor for the party’s landslide victory, opposition parties have, however, alleged misuse of government machinery for the regional party’s growth. The BJD has reversed its losses in 2017 and wrested all the 10 districts held by the opposition BJP and Congress. The party has this time established its hold over Balangir, Bargarh, Deogarh, Gajapati, Kalahandi, Mayurbhanj, Sambalpur, Sonepur, Rayagada and Jharsuguda. In 2017 the BJP had won 476 seats and could form zilla parishads in 20 districts, while BJP formed had done so in eight districts and the Congress in two.

The BJP, which had formed ZPs in eight districts after winning 297 seats in 2017, faced drubbing in its bastions in western Odisha, Mayurbhanj and Malkangiri where it drew a blank. It even faced serious drubbing in Angul, the home district of Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan who is considered the face of the saffron party in Odisha. The party won just one seat out of 28 ZP seats in Angul. Senior BJP leader Bijoy Mohapatra said there is nothing to wonder over the panchayat poll results. “It’s obvious if a party is unprepared and going to election. There was no clear strategy, neither was there any meeting prior to the polls in BJP,” Mohapatra said.

OPCC president Niranjan Patnaik admitted the defeat and alleged that the state government utilized public money to influence voters through welfare schemes before the election.