Panchayat polls: Political parties claim securing maximum zones

Bhubaneswar: On the eve of first phase panchayat polls in Odisha, the three major political parties on Sunday claimed that they will put up a good show to outshine each other.

While ruling BJD and Congress claimed that they would secure over 100 Zila Parishad zones, BJP claimed that its number of seats would increase manifold in the panchayat polls.

In the first phase, elections will be held in 189 Zilla Parishad Zones in 29 districts in which a total of 58,28,446 voters will exercise their franchise.

BJP’s national general secretary and Odisha in-charge Arun Singh claimed that the saffron party will emerge as a formidable force in the state politics after the panchayat elections.

“We have emerged as a greater force in Odisha politics. We have our own cadre and candidate in almost every village of the state. There is a possibility that our party will outperform the ruling BJD and win at least ten times more seats than the last elections,” said Singh.

However, BJD has taken pot-shot at Singh. Senior BJD leader Sashibhushan Behera Said, “If they have so much confidence on their organisation, why did they invite central ministers for campaigning. The way BJP has used their central leaders for campaigning, it exposes their desperation.”

Senior BJD leader Surya Narayan Patro said they would manage to secure over 100 zones in the first phase.

Senior Congress leader Pradip Majhi said their party would emerge victorious in maximum seats as people have started ditching the ruling BJD.