JAGATSINGHPUR: BJP leader Damodar Rout, who contested from Balikuda-Erasama Assembly seat after being axed from the ruling BJD, was trailing at third position with a mere 14,543 votes after 21st round of counting on Thursday. Though Rout has suffered a setback, his son Sambit Routray, contesting from Paradip as BJD candidate, was leading by a huge margin.
BJD MLA candidate of Balikuda-Erasama seat Raghunandan Das secured 33,944 votes while his nearest rival Congress candidate Lalatendu Mohapatra bagged 14,827 votes.
In Jagatsinghpur Assembly seat, Congress leader and sitting MLA Chiranjib Biswal, expected to win the seat, was trailing behind BJD candidate Prasant Kumar Muduli. After the 21st round of counting, Muduli received 64,782 votes while Biswal bagged 56,213 votes followed by BJP candidate Satyabrat Mohapatra with 26,989 votes.
In Paradip, Routray was leading by a huge margin of 54,078 votes by the end of 21st round of counting while Congress candidate Arindam Sarkhel received 45,116 votes. BJP candidate Sampad Swain bagged only 32,300 votes.
In Tirtol Assembly seat, BJD candidate Bishnu Das was leading against BJP nominee Ramakant Bhoi. While Das secured 46,030 votes, Bhoi and Congress candidate Debi Prasad Mallick bagged 27,303 and 10,890 votes respectively.
“Under the apt leadership of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, the ruling BJD is expected to sweep both Assembly and Parliamentary polls in the State. The Chief Minister’s clean image and popularity are the main reasons for the remarkable performance in four Assembly and one Parliamentary seats of the district,” said BJD candidate Raghunadan Das.