BHUBANESWAR: The record polling of 72.75 per cent registered in Patkura Assembly segment, where election was held on Saturday, has created confusion about the results to be announced on July 24.
A high turnout generally indicates a vote against the ruling dispensation. However, the ruling BJD had proved this wrong in the Assembly elections held in April.
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Despite high polling of 73.08 per cent in the Assembly polls, BJD won 112 seats and formed government for the fifth consecutive time.
All eyes are now on the results from Patkura which is difficult to predict as both BJD and BJP made all-out efforts to win the Assembly seat.
The ruling BJD had stationed almost all the Ministers and more than two dozen MLAs in the constituency while BJP veteran Bijoy Mohapatra had launched door-to-door campaign for the last one month.
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Though Mohapatra was defeated in the last three elections in 2004, 2009 and 2014, this time he seems to have given a tough challenge to the BJD forcing Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to campaign in the constituency for two days.
Mohapatra contested from Patkura in 2004 and 2009 elections while in 2014 polls, he was a BJP candidate from the newly carved out Mahakalapada constituency.
While Patkura recorded 68.55 per cent polling in 2009 election, in 2014, the voter turnout was 69.9 per cent. It was for the first time since 2000 that the voter turnout has crossed 70 per cent in the constituency.
Earlier, election to Patkura was postponed twice. Polling was scheduled on April 29 but could not take place because of the death of BJD candidate Bed Prakash Agarwalla on April 20.
The Election Commission then fixed May 19 as the date for polls in Patkura. But it was postponed again due to Cyclone Fani which hit the State on May 3.
On Saturday, polling was by and large peaceful and brisk despite intermittent drizzle and overcast sky. Long queues of voters were seen in each of the 309 polling booths in the constituency.
All three candidates - Mohapatra, Sabitri Agarwalla (BJD) and Jayanta Mohanty (Congress) - have exuded confidence about their success in the election.