Bhubaneswar: the BJD is in the lead in 76 of the 108 civic bodies in Odisha, According to the State Election Commission, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) was leading in three municipal corporations and 73 other urban local bodies in Odisha when the counting of votes began on Saturday. For the office of chairperson, BJD candidates were leading in 73 civic bodies, followed by the BJP in 16, the Congress in seven, and others, including Independent candidates, in nine ULBs. In the three municipal corporations of Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, and Berhampur, the ruling party's mayor candidates were also ahead of their nearest rival. The votes cast in Dhamnagar Notified Area Council in Bhadrak district would be counted later, according to an State election officer. On March 24, about 65 percent of the entire 40.55 lakh voters exercised their right to vote in civic elections. The results will determine the fate of 6,411 candidates running for mayor and chairperson, as well as 5,842 candidates running for councillor and corporator. Naveen Patnaik attends Odisha Budget session after a gap of nearly 2 years Odisha urban polls: Over 6,400 candidates in fray Now Kejriwal will spoil Gehlot-Vasundhara's game, Rajasthan elections preparing started