State polls good news for NDA: BJP ends Naveen rule in Odisha, TDP back in Andhra

Patnaik himself lost by a margin of 16,344 votes to Laxman Bag of BJP in Kantabanji – his first electoral loss ever. In Hinjili, the other seat he contested from, the BJD chief won by 4,636 votes, his lowest ever victory margin.

In 2019, the BJD had retained its state government by winning an overwhelming 112 seats with the BJP picking up just 23.

Even as the counting was on, BJP’s Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan flanked by senior party leaders, including Baijayant Panda and Bhupender Yadav, addressed party workers at the BJP office in Bhubaneswar.

“It’s a day of pride for our state, Odias and the country. I express my gratitude to the 4.5 crore people of Odisha for reposing their faith in the words of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I express my gratitude to the Prime Minister,” Pradhan said.

Banking on the plank of “Odia pride”, Pradhan won the Sambalpur Lok Sabha seat by defeating powerful BJD leader Pranab Prakash Das by a margin of over 1.19 lakh votes.

The strong wave in favour of the BJP, which was once virtually wiped out in the state after breaking ties with BJD in 2009, saw it breach the ruling party’s strongholds in the coastal and interior pockets.

In Andhra, meanwhile, N Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP led the NDA charge against Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy’s YSRCP government with wins in 135 out of 175 seats. Among TDP’s alliance partners, actor K Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena Party won 21 seats followed by the BJP with eight.

Naidu himself won by an overwhelming margin of over 48,000 votes in Kuppam while his son Nara Lokesh emerged victorious by a margin of over 90,000 votes in Mangalagiri. Pawan Kalyan won by a margin of over 70,000 seats in Pithapuram.

The TDP’s state win is particularly significant as it brings back to power Naidu, the party’s chief, months after he was arrested by the state CID in connection with an alleged scam in the AP Skill Development Corporation during his previous tenure. The party had won only 23 seats last time.

While initial trends had indicated a fight between YSRCP and TDP in rural constituencies this time, the tide eventually turned in favour of Naidu’s party as counting progressed. By Tuesday afternoon, workers and supporters of the TDP-BJP-JSP alliance had started celebrations across the state, taking to the streets and bursting crackers.

The YSRCP had seemed to be on strong ground until March, but the TDP and JSP, who had been strengthening their grassroots in the background, got a boost when the BJP joined their alliance just as the elections were announced. Political observers also listed the arrest of Naidu, the lack of new projects or industries in the state and anti-incumbency among the key reasons for YSRCP’s fall.

(With Rahul V Pisharody in Hyderabad)