In Odisha, BJP takes the lead over BJD, both in Lok Sabha and Assembly

In a setback for the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD), rival Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has taken an impressive lead in both the Lok Sabha and the Assembly elections in Odisha.

The BJP is leading in 18 of the total 21 Lok Sabha seats – gaining 10 seats from its 2019 tally. In the Assembly election, it is ahead in 72 of total 147 seats as per the early trends.

The Lok Sabha and Assembly polls were held simultaneously in Odisha stretching over four phases from May 13 to June 1.

BJP candidates were ahead in Keonjhar, Puri, Bolangir, Bargarh, Sambalpur, Dhenkanal, Sundergarh, Bhubaneswar, Jagatsinghpur and Kalahandi Lok Sabha seats.

The ruling BJD is leading in only two seats — Jajpur and Kandhamal – and that too with a very thin margin.

Several BJD candidates are trailing in the party strongholds, including in Aska, the bastion of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

The Congress seems to be retaining Koraput parliamentary seat, known to be its stronghold.

In 2019, the BJD had won 12 Lok Sabha seats, while BJP gained eight and Congress one, the Koraput seat.

In the Assembly polls, the ruling BJD party may also face a setback as the party leads only in 49 seats with a slim margin after two to six rounds of counting.

While the counting trends for Hinjili, Patnaik’s constituency, are yet to be updated, the chief minister has been trailing from Kantabanji, the second seat in western Odisha from where he is contesting.

BJP’s Laxman Bag has been leading by 521 votes after two rounds of counting.

The BJD, which has been ruling the state since March 2000, had won 112 seats in the 2019 Assembly polls.

The BJP seems to have benefitted from an aggressive campaign against the BJD, especially over the growing influence of former IAS officer and Patnaik’s