Congress, BJP blame HC bench issue for debacle in ULB polls

Main opposition party Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today said timing of western Odisha High Court (HC) bench issue did not work for both the parties, and hence the debacle happened.

"Our assumption to go with the public over High Court bench issue went totally wrong. We should not have gone with the wind," said Bhakta Charan Das, national spokesperson for Congress and a leader from western Odisha , while commenting about the dismal performance of the party.

The second phase of Urban Local Body (ULB) elections, where polls were conducted for 20 bodies, Congress had to satisfy itself with only two wins while BJP retained its position at Patnagarh, the home town of party state unit chief K V Singhdeo.While Singhdeo blamed BJD of misusing the state machinery for electoral gains, former Odisha party chief Juel Oram said the timing of the polls was not favourable."The results had been different had there been polls simultaneously," said Oram. The State Election Commission (SEC) had to postpone the municipal elections in western Odisha , slated to be held along with other 66 ULBs on September 19, fearing law and order issue as lawyers from the region went on strike demanding establishment of a permanent bench of Odisha HC in the area.