BHUBANESWAR: BJD’s Sulochana Das is all set to become the first woman mayor of the state capital after she defeated her nearest rival, Suniti Mund of the BJP, by more than 61,000 votes in the urban local body election, the results of which was declared on Thursday.
The BJD also retained control over the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) after winning 48 of the 67 wards.The BJP improved its tally from 4 to 10 while the Congress — which did not field candidates in five wards — dropped to zero from the two it had won in the last urban local body polls even as independents emerged victorious in 9 wards.
“I thank the people of Bhubaneswar, party workers and three legislators of Bhubaneswar who worked relentlessly to help the BJD win the mayoral election. I am most thankful to chief minister Naveen Patnaik for considering me suitable for the post. I will work hard for the development of the city,” Das told the media after her win. Das polled 1,74,487 votes against Mund’s 1,13,400, while Congress’ mayoral nominee Madhusmita Acharya got 11,006 votes. Counting in Bhubaneswar was delayed by three hours from the 8am start.
Owing to disturbance last night at the strong room, the authorities had to delay the counting. The BJD’s tally is one short of what it had got in the last urban election. Among the 9 independent candidates who have won, most are those who were denied BJD tickets. After they did not get the party ticket, they had decided to enter the fray as independent nominees. In 2008, the BJD had grabbed 40 wards out of 60, while in 2013, it won in 49 wards out of 67.
