Utter chaos prevails in the district with both the BJD and Congress claiming victory in Dhankauda zone II. While the Congress on Friday affirmed that its candidate Antaryami Bag has won from Dhankauda zone II, the BJD has already begun celebrating its victory in the polls claiming victory of its candidate, Udhaba Barik from the same seat. More so, with BJD and Congress leading in Rengali zone I and II respectively which went to the polls on Sunday. If BJD’s contention over Dhankauda zone II is correct, the win of Anjali Pradhan in Rengali zone I will take the party’s tally to 10 in the 19-member Zilla Parishad. This leaves the Congress with eight seats including Rengali zone II while one seat has gone to BJP. Now, the BJD with 10 seats has all the reason to distribute sweets and burst crackers.
Despite the fact that Sambalpur Assembly segment is represented by Jayanarayan Mishra of the BJP, the party’s performance in the poll has been dismal.
Similarly lack of leadership haunted the Congress right through the election. With stakes up in his constituency, Jharsuguda MLA Naba Kishore Das could not devote time to the district, where he has substantial clout, giving BJD the leeway.
The BJD which hardly had any presence in the district, on the other hand, has come out stronger under the leadership of Sambalpur district BJD president Rohit Pujari. The party had left the Assembly segment to its partner NCP.
