BMC polls: Cong, BJP fail to restore their waning legacy

--BJD, Independent improve their place

Ward-57 Independent candidate Bandana Sahu

BHUBANESWAR: National parties like Congress and BJP again miserably failed to show its strength in the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls held on Wednesday. Congress won only two wards, while BJP got four out of the total 67 wards in the BMC. The parties could not even touch double digit in the recent polls.  

On the other hand, ruling party BJD continued its winning spree from the inception of the BMC. The party candidates won in 49 out of 67 wards in the fresh polls.

In 2009, BJD won 40 out of 60 wards in the BMC polls, while the BJP and Congress bagged only nine and four seats respectively.

Both the BJP and the Congress did not do well as compared to the last BMC elections held in 2003. The BJP had won 13 seats and the Congress had 10 out of the total 47 wards, while BJD had won 18 seats which was not a good show for the party. A post-poll BJD-BJP alliance had formed the council in 2003.

Number of seats won by the Independents doubled in 2014 BMC polls. The Independents had won six seats in 2003 and had retained the same number in 2009.

Another regional outfit Samruddha Odisha didn’t get a single seat which had won a seat in the last BMC polls.