We will win at least 12 LS seats: BJD

Bhubaneswar: The ruling BJD on Sunday asserted that the party would form the government in Odisha with two-thirds majority by winning at least 110 of the 147 Assembly constituencies in the State.

The party said it would bag at least 12 of the 21 Lok Sabha seats in Odisha. Rejecting exit polls that predicted that the BJP would win 15 Lok Sabha seats in Odisha, the BJD said that exit polls for the State have proved to be wrong in 2014 and 2019 elections and the trend would continue this time as well.

“We are well poised to retain power in the State with two-thirds majority in the Assembly. Like in 2014 and 2019, this time as well the exit polls will be proved wrong,” BJD spokesperson Sasmit Patra said.

“Based on our surveys, analysis and feedback from the ground level, we expect to win at least 12 Lok Sabha seats and 110 seats in the Assembly… we will form a strong and stable government in the State,” he said.

Exit polls have awarded 15 seats to BJP and five to BJD in Odisha.

Senior BJD leader V K Pandian said in a post on X, “Everybody has seen how inaccurate exit polls made by some national-level organisations in air-conditioned rooms are. The exit polls of 2024 will just be a repeat of the previous exit polls.”

The BJD MLA, Padmanabh Behera, said, “Exit polls are not exact results. We will perform very well and form the government in the State. Naveen Patnaik will take oath as the Chief Minister on June 9.”

The BJD MP, Manas Mangaraj, said in an X post, “No matter what exit polls are, I am confident that the public has approved our honesty, hard work and dedication.”

Senior Congress leader and MLA Taraprasad Bahinipati said the party will improve its performance and is likely to win four to five Lok Sabha seats in the State. The Congress had won nine Assembly seats and one Lok Sabha constituency in 2019.

Senior BJP leader and Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan claimed that the exit polls have reflected the reality and that the BJP will win 15 Lok Sabha seats in the State.

The BJP State president, Manmohan Samal, said, “People of Odisha want a change and there will be a change in the government.” In 2019, exit polls had predicted 12-15 Lok Sabha seats for the BJP and 6-8 for BJD, whereas the saffron party had won eight seats and the ruling party in the State had bagged 12.

In 2014, while exit polls had predicted 13 seats for BJD and five for BJP, the saffron party had bagged only one while the ruling party in the State had won 20 seats.