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Odisha exit poll: BJP likely to double seats tally in Naveen Patnaik's bastion
In the 2014 general elections, Naveen Patnaik's BJD had won 20 out of Odisha's 21 seats. The BJP, however, won 8 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Most exit polls have predicted significant gains for the Bharatiya Janata Party in Odisha, which has been the bastion of Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal (BJD) for over two decades.
Pollsters have predicted that the BJP, which pulled off a surprise performance in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, is likely to double its tally.
The Republic-Matrize exit poll gave a conservative prediction on BJP's seats tally. The exit poll gave 9-12 seats for the Bharatiya Janata Party, 7-10 seats for the Biju Janata Dal and 0-1 seats for the Congress.
India News-D-Dynamics predicted that the BJP will win 13 seats. Patnaik's party, according to the poll, will win 8 seats. The Congress-led INDIA bloc will likely fail to open its account in the coastal state.
India TV-CNX predicted a landslide victory for the Bharatiya Janata Party. According to the agency's pollsters, the BJP will win 15-17 out of Odisha's 21 seats. The BJD's seats tally will see a dramatic reduction; the exit poll gave 4-6 seats to Patnaik's party.
The Jan Ki Baat exit poll also doubled the BJP's seats tally compared to 2019. The agency predicted the party will win 15-18 Lok Sabha seats. It gave between 3-7 seats to the Biju Janata Dal. The INDIA bloc will not win any seat in the state, it predicted.
News 24-Today's Chanakya predicted 16 seats for the BJP, 1 for the INDIA bloc and 4 for Naveen Patnaik's party.
In the 2014 general elections, Naveen Patnaik's BJD had won 20 out of Odisha's 21 seats.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP won 8 seats. The BJD won 12 seats.
The exit poll predictions are not in line with the Biju Janata Dal's projection.
Earlier in the day, senior BJD leader V K Pandian claimed the ruling party in Odisha would secure 15 Lok Sabha constituencies.
“The BJD is winning 85 assembly seats after 3rd phase polls and with the 4th phase today, it will end up winning more than 115 seats out of a total of 147 and 15 Lok Sabha seats out of 21," the bureaucrat-turned-politician told PTI.
Most exit polls have predicted that the National Democratic Alliance will retain power with a thumping majority. Pollsters say the party will easily cross the 350-mark.
The majority mark in the Lok Sabha is 272.
Counting of votes will take place on June 4.
