Odisha: Patnaik set to become CM again

The Naveen Patnaik-led ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) is heading for a comfortable victory in the elections to the 147-member state Assembly which was held along with the Lok Sabha polls last month. Polling was held for 146 Assembly seats, as elections for one constituency was countermanded following the death of a BJD candidate due to illness.

At the time of writing this story, the BJD candidates had been declared winners in six Assembly seats, while the BJP had captured one seat. However, the regional outfit was leading in as many as 107 assembly seats. The BJP candidates were leading in 22 constituencies and the Congress was leading in 9.

The BJD had a landslide victory in the last 2014 Assembly polls, capturing 117 Assembly seats, with the Congress getting 16 and BJP 10. This time, the BJP is all set to capture the second spot, pushing Congress to the third place.

With a comfortable for the BJP, Naveen Patnaik, the president of the regional outfit, is all set to become the chief minister of the state for a record fifth term. At the time of writing this story, he was leading in both his Assembly constituencies – Hinjli in southern Odisha's Ganjam district and Bijepur in western Odisha's Bargarh – by a comfortable margin. For the first time, Patnaik had decided to contest from another seat, along with his traditional Hinjli.

A majority of the ministers in the Patnaik cabinet were also leading in their respective Assembly constituencies. Prominent among them are – Rural Development and Parliamentary Affairs minister Bikram Arukha (Bhanjanagar) and culture and tourism minister Ashok Panda (Bhubaneswar-Ekamra).

Among the prominent BJP candidates, sitting MLA and leader of the party’s legislative wing, Kanak Vardhan Singhdeo was trailing behind his BJD rival in his traditional Patnagarh Assembly constituency in western Odisha's Balangir district.

Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Niranjan Patnaik, who is also a former state minister, was trailing behind his BJD rivals in both the Assembly seats he contested – Ghasipura in north Odisha's Keonjhar and Bhandaripokhari in Bhadrak district.

Veteran Congress leader and sitting MLA, Narasingha Mishra, who was also the leader of the party’s legislative wing, was leading in his traditional constituency of Bolangir sadar in western Odisha's Bolangir district.