Congress, BJP admit setback; blame money power

BHUBANESWAR: After a gruelling day of campaigning for the party candidates in three districts, State Congress president Niranjan Patnaik on Sunday admitted that the party failed to match up to the Biju Janata Dal in money and muscle power which resulted in their disappointing performance in the first phase panchayat polls.According to unconfirmed reports, the BJD has won in 133 of the 194 Zilla Parishad seats in the first phase polls on Saturday, while the Congress finished a distant second by bagging only 31 seats.Niranjan said the Congress was in a slumber mode after the 2009 debacle in the Assembly polls. “I am  happy that Congress workers are now coming out to fight the BJD,” he added. There may have been some mistakes in selection of candidates. But 2014 polls will be the ultimate test and the Congress will continue to expose the wrongdoings of the State Government despite the results of the panchayat polls, he said.The Congress has drawn a blank in 14 districts __  Puri, Nayagarh, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Angul, Bhadrak, Gajapati, Sonepur, Nuapada, Kalahandi, Balangir, Deogarh, Bargarh and Boudh __ in the first phase Zilla Parishad polls.The BJP, the third force in the State, has almost been wiped out with the tally of the party not likely to touch the double digit figures in the first phase.BJP spokesman Ashok Sahu said money and muscle power of the BJD cannot be matched. Besides, the administrative machinery and police are under their control, he added.The Opposition parties have failed to take advantage of the BJD infighting in Jagatsinghpur district where the Congress and the BJP have not won a single seat. The Pipili gangrape and Chandanpur rape cases seem to have not made much of an impact on the panchayat polls as the Congress has drawn a blank in Puri.After the performance of the BJD in the first phase polls, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has decided not to campaign for the party candidates for the next phases. Campaigning will be done by the local leaders and not by the Chief Minister, a senior BJD leader said.