The BJP is likely to gain political ground in Odisha with the India Today-Axis My India exit poll predicting the party to win 62 to 80 seats in the 147-member assembly. According to the exit poll, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal (BJD) may see a significant drop in its tally and is likely to get 62 to 80 seats. If the exit poll turns out to be true, this could be the first time since 2004 that the BJD may not get an absolute majority in the state assembly, which could spell trouble for the five-time chief minister.
In the worst case scenario, Odisha may see a hung assembly. The India Today-Axis My India exit poll is based on 5.8 lakh interviews conducted across all 543 parliamentary constituencies. According to the exit poll, the BJP’s vote share is likely to rise to 42%, while the BJD’s vote share may fall to the same figure. The Congress is likely to get 12% of the total votes polled and is projected to win five to eight seats. Elections to Odisha’s 147 assembly seats were held in four phases – May 13, May 20, May 25 and June 1.
Assembly elections in the state were held simultaneously with the Lok Sabha elections. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, BJD emerged as the single largest party with 112 seats. BJP emerged as the second largest party with 23 seats, followed by Congress with nine seats. According to exit polls, BJP is likely to get decisive numbers in the Lok Sabha elections held simultaneously with the assembly elections in Odisha. According to the India Today-Axis My India exit poll, BJP is projected to win 18-20 seats, while BJD may win only 0-2 seats. BJD led by Naveen Patnaik contested all 147 seats, while BJP led by Manmohan Samal also contested all 147 seats. Congress led by Sharat Patnaik contested 145 seats.
