BJD rides huge 11.5% rise in vote share to power

A steep rise of 11.5% votes in its favour propelled the ruling BJD to a landslide victory in the recent assembly elections in Orissa as it grabbed 103 seats in the 147 - member house

The regional party, headed by chief minister Naveen Patnaik, has grabbed a vote share of 38.86% in the just concluded polls compared to its share of 27.36% when it won 61 seats while contesting the 2004 polls in alliance with the BJP.

The vote share of BJD in the assembly polls was marginally higher than 37.23% secured by it in the Lok Sabha elections in which 14 of its 18 candidates emerged victorious this time.

As BJD's vote share sky-rocketed, the party which had fielded 130 candidates while leaving 17 seats to the NCP, CPI and CPM, raised its tally by 42.

This is the first time that a regional party could secure absolute majority in an assembly poll in Orissa though three regional outfits --- Ganatantra Parishad, Jana Congress and Utkal Congress --- had shared power with other parties between 1959 and 1971.

The main opposition Congress, which had accounted for 34.82% of the total votes in 2004 assembly elections, saw its vote share plummet to 29.10%, registering a drop of about 5.72%.