Chief Minister and BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik expressed his gratitude towards the voters and party rank and file for the victory.
“This is a tremendous victory for us,” Patnaik told reporters here. The Congress, however, ascribed the thumping victory of the ruling party to use of money and muscle power, besides misuse of official machinery. Acknowledging the defeat, Pradesh Congress Committee president Jayadev Jena said, “We will have introspection over the results so that it will not be repeated in the coming elections. We respect people’s mandate.” On the other hand, former PCC president Niranjan Patnaik said the people have rejected the State Congress leadership. He too said if he were the PCC chief, he would have resigned immediately.