The BJP's hopes to shore up its fortunes in Orissa by banking on the charisma of its PM candidate Narendra Modi are belied if results of the urban polls in the Capital are any indication. The much-touted Modi magic did not work for the party in Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation elections where it won just four of the 67 wards. The only consolation for it was that it fared better than the Congress which bagged only two.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal (BJD) swept the polls with its candidates winning as many as 49 wards. Moreover, a majority of the 12 successful independents are also likely to join the party.
"We will analyse the results and see what went wrong," said BJP national general secretary, Dharmendra Pradhan apparently shocked by the results in Bhubaneswar as the polls were seen as a virtual dress rehearsal for the assembly polls likely to be held sometime in April.
The prestigious BMC polls had followed elections to 86 civic bodies in other parts of the state in September and November last year. Performance of the BJP was disappointing even then with the party getting majority only in three of these urban bodies.
The Congress had won 13 against 64 of the ruling BJD. Modi, who is likely to visit Orissa next month, had dominated the party's municipal poll campaign with posters all across the state. Party candidates, too, invoked his name to woo the voters but the masses, who are still under Patnaik's spell, appear to have ignored the Gujarat strongman so far.
State BJP chief, K.V. Singhdeo, however, sought to put up a brave face saying the Modi factor would work in favour of the party in the general elections. BJP's popularity in the state has nosedived since the break-up of its alliance with the BJD in 2009. In the 2009 Assembly polls, which the party fought alone, it won only six of the 147 seats.
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