JAGATSINGHPUR: BJD candidate Rajashree Mallick was leading in Jagatsinghpur Lok Sabha constituency by a huge margin of 3.37 lakh votes against her nearest rival BJP candidate Bibhu Prasad Tarai. Congress nominee Pratima Mallick secured 1,32,580 votes after the end of 21st round of counting.
Tarai, who had joined BJP after leaving Congress, was trailing by 1,94,716 votes.
Rajashree expressed confidence over her possible landslide victory. “Despite internal conflict in BJD, my dedication and hardwork have brought success for me and my people of Jagatsinghpur. My winning margin would have been better if there would have been no intra-party conflict in the constituency. I will work for all-round development of the constituency and voters,” she said.
Tarai said BJD has performed well across the State. “The ruling BJD contested the elections in an organised manner in the district while BJP failed on this front. Though there was a strong undercurrent of support for the BJP, the party failed to convert it into votes due to several factors,” he added.