In a landslide victory, the Biju Janata Dal on Friday stormed back to power for a record fourth consecutive term in Odisha by securing as two-third majority in the 147-member assembly.
Candidates of the Naveen Patnaik-led party have won in 105 assembly seats, while the Congress has won 16 seats (11 in the previous assembly), and the Bharatiya Janata party 10 seats.
Prominent among BJD candidates are party supremo and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who trounced Congress nominee Sibaram Patra by 76,586 votes in his home turf Hinjili segment in Ganjam district. This was Naveen's fourth consecutive victory from the assembly segment.
Naveen-led BJD had won 103 seats in the 2009 assembly polls.
However, in a severe blow to the Congress, state president Jaydev Jena was defeated in the Anandpur assembly constituency, while the party's chief whip Prasad Harichandan not only failed to retain Satyabadi set but was pushed to third place in the seat where independent candidate Umakanta Samantray won.
Another independent candidate Sanatan Mahakud, a prominent mineral trader, won in Champua assembly seat in mineral-rich Keonjhar district.
While the BJP failed to capitalise on the Narendra Modi wave that swept the country, party's state unit president K V Singhdeo, overcoming strong opposition from the BJD's Prakruti Devi, defeated her by 13,653 votes in Patnagarh.
Though BJD swept the polls, Finance Minister Prasanna Acharya lost to his Congress rival Subal Sahu in Bijepur while School and Mass Education Minister Rabi Narayan Nanda was was defeated by Congress leader Tara Prasad Bahinipati in Jeypore seat.
Also a loser was BJD leader and former minister A U Singhdeo (Bolangir), while former Speaker and BJD leader Kishore Mohanty was defeated by Naba Das of the Congress in Jharsuguda seat.
Senior Congress leader Chiranjib Biswal defeated BJD leader and former minister Bishnu Das in Jagatsinghpur assembly segment.
The Newly-floated Samata Kranti Dal has won one seat, and so has the Communist Party of India-Marxist. Independents have won two seats.
