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Bhubaneswar: Expectations ran high among major political parties like the BJD, BJP and Congress in Odisha as the counting of votes for the by-elections in two assembly constituencies-Balasore Sadar and Tirtol—are going to take place on Tuesday.
The BJD and BJP are optimistic of a probable win in both the seats while the Congress hinted at a dismal show in both the seats citing stumpy election expenditure.
“There are enough possibilities of BJP winning in both Tirtol and Balasore seats because of the various welfare measures of the Centre and the huge funds given by the Central government to Odisha for Covid management" BJP general secretary Prthiviraj Harichandan said.
“I can’t predict our victory margin, but the fight will be close in both the seats with the ruling party candidates”, he added.
Similarly, the BJD is confident of regaining Tirtol, a seat held by the party earlier. “Tirtol was earlier in our hands. So, the mandate will be in our favour this time too. But, the Balasore seat is also equally important. Due to the various welfare activities carried out by the State government in the district, people have voted in our favour," senior BJD leader Debi Mishra said.
Unlike the two main rivals in the fray, Congress has admitted to its lacklustre performance in both the seats. However, the party sounded optimistic about a turn around of fates in the next assembly election.
“BJD has spent around Rs 30-32 crore in the election while the amount would be anything between Rs 20 and 25 crore in case of BJP. The AICC had given us only Rs 20 lakh and Pradesh Congress Committee had given some money. It is widely believed that our candidate is no. 1 in every aspect. Despite party's bad financial condition, our nominee, a woman, didn’t bother about it and gave her best efforts. There is no chance of winning this time, but 2024 is a must”, Congress MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati said.
His party colleague and senior legislator Suresh Routray predicted that Congress would remain the second spot in Tirtol and admitted that Balasore was a lost case.
