ANGUL: Reflecting a wave of change across Odisha, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has secured a decisive victory in Angul and Dhenkanal districts. In Angul, the BJP won three out of five assembly seats, while in Dhenkanal, it swept all four seats.
BJP candidate Rudra Narayan Pany triumphed in his seventh attempt, defeating BJD’s Abinash Samal by a margin of 80,000 votes. Commenting on the defeat, Angul BJD president attributed the losses to a statewide desire for change, noting even Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik lost the Kantabanji seat. He also cited the BJP’s misinformation campaign as a contributing factor, along with the lack of support from slum dwellers who had received land rights from the BJD government.
However, he expressed confidence that the BJD would regain the people’s trust in future elections.
Angul BJP president Dileswar Pradhan credited the victory to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, emphasising that the BJP government will excel in the coming five years and work for the development of the state. Similar sentiments were echoed by leaders in Dhenkanal, where the BJP won all four assembly seats.
On the other hand, Congress spokesperson Jagadananda Pradhan accused the BJP of using money and muscle power to secure their victories, while also criticising the BJD for failing to bring development and oppressing the people. “While Congress did not perform as expected, our polling percentage increased, which suggested better prospects in future elections,” he added.