BHUBANESWAR: BJD’s Sulochana Das has been elected as the first woman Mayor of State Capital as the ruling party swept the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections on Saturday.
The BJD retained power in BMC by winning a whopping 72 per cent (pc) corporator seats. Despite a dismal turnout of 43.30 pc voters on the day of polling on March 24, Das defeated her nearest rival and BJP mayor candidate Suniti Mund with a huge margin of 61,143 votes.
Das, who is currently serving as the party spokesperson, registered a significant lead from the beginning of the counting and garnered 1,74487 votes.
Mund, however, gave a tough fight and polled an impressive 1.13 lakh votes. Congress candidate Madhusmita Acharya was placed third with 11,006 votes. Besides, Niroj Nalini Samal of Odisha Janata Party secured 3,116 votes.
Apart from winning the Mayor seat with a significant margin, the BJD also posted an impressive performance in the elections to corporator seats in the civic body. The party gave a chance to several new faces to thwart the anti-incumbency factor and counter the saffron challenge.
BJD candidates won 48 out of 67 corporator seats compared to 49 seats in the previous urban polls held in 2013. On the other hand, the BJP that had won four seats in the last election, managed to improve its tally by bagging 10 seats. The saffron party candidates put their best despite a faction-ridden organisation and the top brass sidelining itself from campaigning.
Congress, on the other hand, could not even open its account. The grand old party that had secured two seats in the previous polls failed to win even a single seat this time.
Independents, many of whom were rebels who contested the election after being denied tickets from the BJD, managed to secure nine seats. The number of independents who had won the corporator seats in BMC jurisdiction was 12 in the last elections.
Sulochana Das
Addressing the waterlogging problems of the Capital city figures top on the agenda of Sulochana Das. She also wants to ensure that benefits of all the government schemes reach the last man at the bottom of the pyramid. Strengthening the grievance redressal system of the city and turning slums into Adarsh colonies figure in her five-year agenda. Das, a former journalist, quit Congress and joined BJD in 2017. Das was also the State Commissioner for Persons with Disability and is currently the BJD spokesperson.
“I thank all voters for voting me and congratulate winners from all parties. As a people’s Mayor, I will ensure that the BMC reaches out to the people at their doorsteps to address their grievances instead of making them come to the BMC office. I urge all to join hands to make our city vibrant, smart and safe for citizens,” Das.