bjd: BJD scripts history, lands zila parishad president posts in all Odisha districts

BJD, which recently won Zilla Parishad seats, has created history by setting up its Zilla Parishad presidents in all 30 districts of the state. About 21 out of 30 presidents are women.

The BJD had won 766 out of 852 seats in the Zilla Parishad elections announced on March 1. This was much higher than the 476 seats it won in 2017. In four districts – Jajpur, Bhadrak, Jharsuguda and Deogarh – the BJD won all seats leaving no room for the opposition.

The opposition’s position further narrowed with the BJP winning 42 seats and the Congress 37 out of 852. In 2017, the BJP had won 297 seats and the Congress 60. After securing such a high number of seats, it was expected that the Zilla Parishad presidents of all the districts would go to the BJD.

Chief Minister and BJD leader Naveen Patnaik decided to elect young faces as Zilla Parishad presidents to foster new leadership for the future. Patnaik has laid special emphasis on the development of women leadership, in which 21 out of 30 Zilla Parishad presidents are women.

Saraswati Manjhi (23), the president of Rayagada District Zilla Parishad, is the youngest president of the state. Of the 30 Zilla Parishad presidents, 15 are below 40 years of age.

Originally published at Pen 18