JEYPORE: In face of an unstoppable BJD juggernaut, the Congress has managed to put up an impressive show in the panchayat elections in the tribal-dominated Koraput district. The grand old party has pocketed 12 of the total 29 zilla parishad (ZP) seats in the district, a three-fold increase from its tally of four seats in 2017 rural polls. The ruling BJD has secured 16 seats and one has been won by an Independent.
Besides in many seats, Congress candidates have lost to BJD by a narrow margin. Congress has won two seats each in Dasmantpur, Laxmipur, Semiliguda and Lamataput blocks besides one each in Narayanpatana, Koraput, Boipariguda and Borigumma.
Similarly, BJD bagged three seats in Jeypore, two each in Kotpad, Borigumma, Nandapur, Bandhugaon and Kundra besides one each in Boipariguda, Pottangi and Koraput. An Independent candidate has bagged a ZP seat in Pottangi. Incidentally, poll pundits had written off Congress after senior leaders Pradeep Majhi and Chandra Sekhar Majhi resigned from the party ahead of the panchayat polls.
District Congress president Minakshi Bahinipati said people of the tribal region have unwavering faith in her party. The Congress will perform even better in the upcoming urban local body polls, she claimed. Though the ruling BJD embarked on hectic campaigning by mobilising its vast support base, it did not get the desired result.
Sources said the ruling party leaders failed to influence voters with the welfare schemes launched by the State government. Besides, the anti-incumbency factor also worked against the BJD. In 2017 panchayat elections, BJD had won 24 ZP seats in Koraput while Congress had pocketed only four. One seat was won by an Independent.