Thumbs Up for Naveen Patnaik, as BJD sweeps BMC Polls

Breaking News! In a thumbs up to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and his work, people in Bhubaneswar have a given a clear mandate to ruling BJD (Biju Janata Dal) in the BMC (Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation) elections. The BJD won 40 out of 60 wards - a two-third majority. It does not require the support of its coalition partner BJP, which fought on its own, but ended up with just 9 wards.

The Congress was wiped out in the BMC elections, as the party managed to win just 4 seats. Independents won 6 wards and Samrudha Orissa won one. BJD has emerged as a strong force in the BMC elections and there is no doubt that it will repeat the same results in the coming assembly elections. On the other hand, it became clear that BJP won't be able to survive in Orissa without the support of BJD.

Congress did well in Phulbani and G. Udayagiri civic polls. Out of 13 wards in Phulbani Municipality, Congress won 5 wards, while BJD and BJP won 4 and 2 wards respectively. The remaining two wards went to independents. However, if the BJD and BJP form an alliance with the support of independents, they can win the Municipality. In G. Udayagiri, Congress won 6 wards, while BJD won 4. The BJP managed to win one ward, while independents won 2 wards.