Unlike the cakewalks which the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) enjoyed in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, its arch rival BJP is offering a tough fight to the regional outfit to reclaim the constituencies.
Kendrapara, the nerve centre of the BJD-BJP conflict and touted as prestige war between chief minister Naveen Patnaik and the one-time BJD loyalist Baijayant Panda aka Jay Panda, now contesting on a BJP ticket, has kept both the sparring parties in tenterhooks. But till latest trends emerging, two-time MP Jay Panda is trailing by over 32,000 votes to BJD nominee and Odia cine heartthrob Anubhav Mohanty.