Tuesday, 19 May 2009, 14:58 (IST)

India might have voted for Congress, and Orissa for Biju Janata Dal (BJD), but what about the communally-sensitive Kandhamal?

In what may call for some serious scrutiny, the people of Kandhamal have apparently voted for the saffron party, which political analysts say is the outcome of the ethnic and religious polarization of votes.

Of the six candidates from the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), two are from riot-stricken Kandhamal. Shockingly, one of the elected candidates, Manoj Pradhan, is accused of abetting the violence on Christians, last year. The prime accused won the assembly polls from jail.

According to the police, Manoj Pradhan has been booked in 12 cases that include seven murders against Christians. He is alleged to have masterminded the riots, in the aftermath of the murder of VHP leader Laxmananda Saraswati.

Even after the clamor for fielding a main accused in the Kandhamal riots, the Hindutva mascot who is also the district general secretary of BJP’s youth wing Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, got elected from G. Udaygiri seat by a margin of over 23,500 votes.

The communal discord has apparently even led to the BJP's victory at Baliguda, home to the slain seer's ashram, where scores of Christians were murdered and churches destroyed.

However, there might be some relief for Christians in Kandhamal, as BJP has suffered a severe blow on the whole after it failed to win even one of the 21 Parliamentary seats in the state. Only six of its candidates made it to the 147-member House.

According to sources, the BJD won 103 of the 129 seats it contested in the 147-member Assembly. The party also won 14 of the total 21 Lok Sabha seats in the state.

BJD's leader Mr. Patnaik is happy that he broke-up with the party’s saffron ally of 11 years, the BJP.

After the Kandhamal violence received international condemnation, Patnaik declared that "every bone in my body is secular" and further said he regretted for his alliance with the saffron brigade, which he agreed led to unrestrained mob violence on Christians.

The chief minister, in a stunning revelation last December, stated that 10,000 people were named in 746 cases lodged during the Kandhamal riots. He also admitted that 252 prayer halls were damaged and 4,215 houses burnt in the mayhem.

The 62-year-old BJD leader has assured Christians that the new government would not compromise on any acts of violence. On Tuesday, Patnaik is scheduled to meet Governor M C Bhandare to stake claim of the new government.