Victory eludes BJD in Kalahandi & BJP in Nuapada

The tribal districts of Kalahandi and Nuapada, have thrown a surprising verdict in 2017 panchayat polls in Odisha. Out of 30 Zilla Parishad Zones that went to polls in Kalahandi in four phases so far, BJP has made a clean sweep by winning all 30 seats. Neither BJD nor Congress have opened their account.

Odisha Minister Pushpendra Singhdeo will have a tough time post panchayat polls, as he miserably failed to lead the party. MLA Captain Divya Shankar Mishra is accused of playing into the hands of BJP, although nothing has been proved yet. But, BJD’s dismal show in Kalahandi has not gone well with the party supremo.

In the fifth and final phase, 6 seats in Kalahandi will go to polls. BJD wants to 1/2 seats as facesaver, while BJP is leaving no stones unturned to make it 36-0. Congress has completely lost out in the race.

While BJP has made its presence felt in most parts of Western Odisha and KBK region, the party is yet to win even a single seat in party’s Odisha Unit President Basant Panda’s constituency Nuapada. Out of 11 seats that went to polls in 4 phases, BJD has won 6 zones, while Congress has won 5.

In the fifth and final phase, 3 Zones would go to polls in Nuapada. BJP desperately needs a win here to salvage the lost pride. But, both BJD and Congress would eye to win as many as possible to be able to capture the Zilla Parishad. Magic figure remains 8.