Bhubaneswar, June 4: The Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Tuesday congratulated the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for its success in the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in the state and thanked the people of Odisha for allowing the regional party to serve them for last 24 years.

In a joint press conference, BJD spokespersons and MPs Sasmit Patra, Manas R Mangaraj and Suleta Deo said that the regional party was indebted to the people of Odisha for allowing it to serve the state for uninterrupted 24 years.

"We are grateful to the people of Odisha for blessing us for 24 years to serve them. We are thankful to the people. We are also indebted to the people for having blessed us in this election also. The party has got about 40 per cent vote share though it is less by three per cent from the previous elections," Patra said.

The BJP comfortably won in 78 seats, while BJD has been reduced to only 51 assembly seats. Congress managed to win in 14 seats and Communist Party of India (Marxist) - CPI(M) won in one seat. The rest rest four seats were obtained by Independent candidates.