Odisha Zilla Parishad Elections 2017: BJP makes mark in BJD territory, wins 283 seats

The official election results of Odisha zilla parishad of 797 seats out of total 849 were out on Saturday. BJD has won 448 seats, BJP 283, Congress 49 and Independent candidates or Others have won 17, reported ANI.

BJP on Friday cited its win in the backward and tribal regions of Odisha in local body polls to claim the endorsement of the poor for the Modi government's policies, including demonetization.

BJP also accused Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi of "duping" people in the state saying he did nothing for them despite making promises when the UPA was in power and asserted it is now the main opposition party and the Congress has been decimated.

Union ministers Jual Oram and Dharmendra Pradhan, both of whom are from the state, besides party general secretary Arun Singh, who is the state's BJP in-charge, addressed a press conference in which they made a detailed presentation about its big win in the state.

Oram said Chief Minister Navin Patnaik of BJD has "cheated" people, causing popular resentment against his 18-year rule.

Pradhan said the party's win was particularly impressive in places like Kalahandi, Balangir, Naxal-hit Malkangiri and Mayurbhanj, seen among the poorest districts in the country, where it won 34 out of 36, 24 of 34, 10 of 15 and 49 of 56 seats, respectively.

"The poor's faith in Prime Minister Narendra Modi has increased after November 8," Pradhan said, referring to the day the demonetization decision was taken and the party's win in local elections in several places, including Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Chandigarh and Maharashtra, held afterwards.

Attacking Rahul, he said the Congress leader had visited Kalahandi in 2008 and promised people he would be their soldier in Delhi and in 2015 he went on a foot march in Bargarh. "The Congress ruled the country till 2014. He (Rahul) did nothing for them. He duped them. Now the Congress has been decimated," he said.

Pradhan said Modi visited the state three times last year in connection with launching central projects, including crop insurance scheme.

The Centre's various welfare projects like insurance scheme and 'Ujjwala Yojna' has touched a chord with masses and increased central expenditure for the SC/ST communities has helped people, he said.

The results of assembly elections, including in Uttar Pradesh, will reflect continued popular support for the BJP, he said.