Jenas lose in polls, accept defeat of Congress in Odisha

Image
Press Trust of India Bhubaneswar
Last Updated : May 16 2014 | 9:49 PM IST
The three Jenas of Congress in Odisha - OPCC president Jaydev Jena, his son Sangram Keshari and outgoing union minister Srikant Jena today accepted failure in the simulatneous Lok Sabha and assebly polls having tasted defeat at the hustings.
"I accept the defeat and own resposibility for Congress' bad performance in both assembly and Lok Sabha elections," Jaydev Jena said adding rise of BJP was one of the factors for his party's defeat.
"The young and new voters favoured the BJP instead of Congress. The poll percentage of BJP is certainly high this time. Therefore, BJD took advantage of BJP's rise," he added.
The three had been embroiled in controversies ahead of the polls and Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh and many other senior leaders had quit Congress just before the elections accusing them of not giving tickets to genuine candidates.
While Srikanta Jena emerged third in Balasore Lok Sabha seat, Jayadev Jena could not make it to the Odisha assembly for the second time.
After accepting their defeat both of them claimed that they were 'not interested to fight the polls but remained in fray due to pressure from the high command'.
Sangram Keshari Jena who contested from Bhadrak Lok Sabha seat was trailing behind his nearest BJD rival Arjun Charan Sethi by 1.5 lakh votes when reports last came in. Sangram is also the president of the OPCC's youth wing.
*Subscribe to Business Standard digital and get complimentary access to The New York Times

Smart Quarterly

₹900

3 Months

₹300/Month

SAVE 25%

Smart Essential

₹2,700

1 Year

₹225/Month

SAVE 46%
*Complimentary New York Times access for the 2nd year will be given after 12 months

Super Saver

₹3,900

2 Years

₹162/Month

Subscribe

Renews automatically, cancel anytime

Here’s what’s included in our digital subscription plans

Exclusive premium stories online

  • Over 30 premium stories daily, handpicked by our editors

Complimentary Access to The New York Times

  • News, Games, Cooking, Audio, Wirecutter & The Athletic

Business Standard Epaper

  • Digital replica of our daily newspaper — with options to read, save, and share

Curated Newsletters

  • Insights on markets, finance, politics, tech, and more delivered to your inbox

Market Analysis & Investment Insights

  • In-depth market analysis & insights with access to The Smart Investor

Archives

  • Repository of articles and publications dating back to 1997

Ad-free Reading

  • Uninterrupted reading experience with no advertisements

Seamless Access Across All Devices

  • Access Business Standard across devices — mobile, tablet, or PC, via web or app

More From This Section

First Published: May 16 2014 | 9:49 PM IST

Next Story