Bhubaneswar, Jun 4 (PTI) BJP has established early leads in at least 50 assembly seats in Odisha, as per the Election Commission of India.

BJD nominees, on the other hand, were leading in 35 constituencies in 94 of 147 assembly seats in the state for which early trends were available till 10.30 am.

Also Read | Maharashtra Lok Sabha Elections Results 2024: Early Trends Show Mixed Bag for NDA, INDIA Bloc As Vote Counting Underway for the 48 Seats.

Congress was ahead in seven seats and the CPI (M) in one, while an Independent candidate was also leading, Odisha Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Nikunja Bihari Dhal said.

Several Odisha ministers were trailing, while Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik was leading in Kantabanji over his nearest rival Laxman Bag of the BJP by a mere 158 votes.

Also Read | Lok Sabha Election Results 2024 Constituency-Wise Winners List: State-Wise List of Winning Candidates From BJP, Congress, TMC, DMK, AAP, TDP and Other Parties in India General Elections.

Finance Minister Bikram Arukha, Forest and Environment Minister PK Amat, Science and Technology Minister Ashok Panda, Water Resources Minister Tukuni Sahu, Steel and Mines Minister Prafulla Mallick, Planning and Coordination Minister Rajendra Dholakia were trailing.

Counting was underway in 70 centres across the state. Around 18-19 rounds of counting will be held for the seats.

Assembly Speaker and BJD leader Pramila Mallik was leading in Binjharpur, while minister Jagannath Saraka was leading in Bissam Cuttack, and BJD's Mahesh Sahoo in Hindol.

CPI (M) candidate and sitting MLA Laxman Munda was leading in Bonai assembly constituency. Independent candidate Soumya Ranjan Patnaik was leading in Ghasipura MLA seat over BJD nominee Badri Narayan Patra.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)