BHUBANESWAR: The BJP has crossed the halfway mark in Odisha with its candidates leading in 77 assembly seats out of the total 147, seriously threatening to end the 25-year rule of the BJD in the state.
According to the Election Commission of India (ECI), BJD candidates are leading in 53 seats while Congress nominees are ahead in 15 seats. CPM and independents are leading in one seat each.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is leading from two constituencies, Hinjili and Kantabanji, while finance minister Bikram Keshari Arukha is trailing in Bhanjanagar assembly seat. In the Hinjili seat, the Chief Minister is leading by 3929 votes against his BJP rival Sisir Kumar Mishra. Similarly in Kantabanji assembly seat, the Chief Minister has now established a lead of 2217 votes over his BJP rival Laxman Bag.
After training in the initial round, leader of the Opposition and senior BJP leader Jayanaraya Mishra has now established a lead over his BJD rival Rohit Pujari in Sambalpur assembly constituency by 753 votes. In a keen contest in Rourkela assembly seat, former Union minister and BJP leader Dilip Ray is leading over his BJD rival, minister of state for labour Sarada Prasad Nayak, by a margin of 2466 votes. Speaker of the Odisha assembly and senior BJD leader Pramila Mallik is leading over her BJP rival in the Binjharpur assembly seat by 1701 votes.
Meanwhile, the BJP is heading for a landslide victory in the Lok Sabha polls in Odisha, leading in 19 out of the total 21 seats. Union education minister and senior BJP leader Dharmendra Pradhan has established a lead of 85128 votes over his BJD rival Pranab Prakash Das in Sambalpur LS seat while BJP national vice-president Baijayant Panda is leading by 12575 votes in Kendrapara against his BJD rival Anshuman Mohanty.
Other prominent BJP leaders who have established leads include former Union ministers Jual Oram and Pratap Chandra Sarangi from Sundargarh and Balasore seats. In Koraput Lok Sabha seat, sitting MP Saptagiri Ulaka is leading over his nearest BJD Kaushalya Hikaka by a margin over 51,000 votes.