BJD keeps its vote bank intact, BJP sees a surge

Bhubaneswar: Despite ruling the state for last 19 years, anti-incumbency failed to deter BJD from winning for a fifth consecutive term with thumping majority as the party managed to keep its vote base intact.

In fact, the ruling party has increased its vote percentage in the Assembly polls.

While the BJD had a vote share of 43.4 percent during 2014 polls, the vote share increased marginally to 44.71 percent for assembly this year.

BJD had won 117 assembly seats in 2014 and the number of seats stood at 112 this time.

However, the vote share of BJD witnessed a marginal drop for parliamentary constituencies. It secured 42.76 percent this year against 44.10 percent in 2014.

Out of 21 Lok Sabha seats, BJD had won 20 in 2014 while the number decreased to 12 this year.

On the other hand, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) vote share in the Lok Sabha elections increased by almost 73 per cent against 2014 elections.

The party also increased its seat tally to eight from the single seat it won in 2014.

The saffron party has polled 38.4 per cent of the total votes as against 21.9 per cent in the previous election.

For Congress, the vote share reduced drastically from 26.4 per cent in 2014 to 13.8 per cent this time. However, the party still managed to win a single seat.