BJP jolts BJD, Congress in Odisha local polls

The party has gained at the expense of anti-incumbency sentiment for the BJD and Congress party

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), by all accounts, has got second place in the ongoing panchayat polls in Odisha, after the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD), in terms of the number of zilla parishads won.

In the process, it has pushed the Congress, the traditional rival of the BJD in the state for the past two decades, to third spot.

Although the results have not been officially announced, the indications are that the BJD has bagged 290 seats in the first three phases compared to 421 seats it got at the same stage of the previous panchayat polls