5th Phase Panchayat Polls begin in 150 Zilla Parishad Zones in Odisha

Polling began for 150 Zilla Parishad zones in Odisha in the fifth and final phase today. Voting began at 7 AM and will continue till 12 PM. Counting will start immediately after the polling concludes.

* BJD has so far comfortably captured 12 Zilla Parishads. After the 5th phase polls, the party is all set to add Balasore, Dhenkanal, Keonjhar, Kandhamal and Nuapada, making it 17 out of 30 districts.

* BJP has already won 8 districts. The party may not be able to add any more to its kitty. Congress has already won Jharsuguda.

* In Rayagada and Gajapati, fight is between BJD and Congress to capture the ZP. Sundargarh and Nabarangpur will throw mixed verdict. Congress may play the role of Kingmaker in both districts.

Panchayat Polls Verdict So Far:

* BJD (12): Angul, Bhadrak, Boudh, Cuttack, Jajpur, Jagatsinghpur, Nayagarh, Kendrapara, Koraput, Ganjam, Puri, Khordha.

Strong Possibilities of BJD (5): Balasore, Keonjhar, Dhenkanal, Kandhamal, Nuapada.

* BJP (8): Bolangir, Sambalpur, Bargarh, Kalahandi, Mayurbhanj, Subarnapur, Deogarh, Malkangiri.

* Congress (1): Jharsuguda.

* BJD vs Congress Fight (2): Rayagada, Gajapati.

* Mixed Verdict (2): Sundargarh, Nabarangpur.

—By Insight News Desk.