Meanwhile, the votes of BJD’s two principal rivals, the Congress and the BJP, have nosedived, a detailed study of the election results revealed on Wednesday. So far as Lok Sabha elections are concerned, the BJD, which captured as many as 14 out of the 21 seats in the state, had a 7.2 per cent swing in its favour as the party’s vote share went up to 37.23 per cent from 30.02 per cent during the 2004 Parliament polls. The regional outfit had bagged 11 Lok Sabha seats in 2004.
The BJD’s share of votes went up more handsomely in the assembly elections, registering an 11 per cent increase compared to the 2004 polls. The regional outfit’s vote share touched 38.86 per cent from 27.36 per cent in 2004. The BJD had captured 103 out of the 147 assembly seats in the state. The number was 61 during the 2004 polls.
This time, the Congress managed to win six Lok Sabha seats compared to only two during the previous polls in 2004 though its share of seats went down to 27 in the assembly elections compared to 38 in 2004.
However, the principal opposition party had a disastrous show in the Lok Sabha and assembly elections so far as the percentage of votes is concerned.
In the Lok Sabha polls, the Congress’s share of votes went down sharply from 40.43 per cent to 32.75 per cent this time, a downward swing of about 7.68 per cent. Similarly, in the assembly elections the party’s vote share touched to a new low of 29.1 per cent, compared to 34.82 per cent during the 2004 elections.
Significantly, the Congress’s vote share was better (29.78 per cent) during the 1990 assembly elections in the state in which the party had given its worst ever performance, capturing only 10 seats.
The vote percentage of the BJP, the BJD’s former ally, also took a beating in the Lok Sabha and assembly elections compared to the previous twin polls in the state in 2004.
In the Lok Sabha polls, the vote share of the saffron party which failed to open its account in the state this time (it had captured seven Parliament seats during the previous elections) went down to 16.89 per cent from 19.3 per cent during the 2004 polls, a fall of 2.41 per cent.
Similarly, in the assembly elections this time, the party’s vote percentage decreased to 15 from 17.11 during the 2004 polls. The BJP’s number of assembly seats has reduced to a mere 6 this time from 32 during the previous elections five years back.
DH News Service
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