Exit polls say major gains for BJP in Naveen Patnaik’s Odisha

Odisha, which voted simultaneously for assembly and parliamentary elections, is crucial to BJP calculations and the party is hoping to make gains in the state and improve its 2014 tally of 1 Lok Sabha seat.

Naveen Patnaik’s Biju Janata Dal will get 11 Lok Sabha seats, with the BJP making a sweep in Odisha,exit polls, aired soon after voting for Lok Sabha polls ended on Sunday, have revealed.

Voters show their identity cards as they stand in queues to cast their votes in Odisha. (Arabinda Mahapatra / HT PHOTO)

The Republic TV C-Voter exit poll gave the NDA 10 seats, the Biju Janata Dal 11 seats and the UPA 0.

The Times Now-VMR exit poll 2019 results indicate 12 Lok Sabha seats for the BJP in Odisha.

According to the CNNNews18 - IPSOS, the BJP is expected to sweep Odisha, winning 13 of the 21 seats in the state. Exit polls often get it wrong and the actual results will only be known on Thursday, May 23, when votes are counted.

Odisha, which voted simultaneously for assembly and parliamentary elections, is crucial to BJP calculations and the party is hoping to make gains in the state and improve its 2014 tally of 1 Lok Sabha seat.

Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal had swept 20 of the 21 Lok Sabha seats in the state.

Both PM Modi and BJP president Amit Shah campaigned extensively in the state, targeting Naveen Patnaik, who is seeking a fifth consecutive term as CM, over alleged lack of governance and absence of development and urging people to oust the ‘burnt-out transformer’.

Patnaik responded by ‘inviting’ PM Modi to his oath-taking ceremony, claiming he had already won the assembly elections.

The ruling BJD claims it will win anything between 15 and 18 Lok Sabha seats and retain power for the fifth consecutive term by winning anything between 90 and 127 of the 147 assembly seats. The magic number in Odisha Assembly is 74 which senior BJD leaders say would not be difficult to achieve considering the overall popularity of chief minister Naveen Patnaik.

The opposition BJP is also upbeat, claiming it will win anything between 12 and 16 Lok Sabha seats. In Assembly, the party hopes to get around 50-55 seats.

BJP’s national secretary Suresh Pujari however says Odisha would surprise everyone as the support for PM Narendra Modi was unprecedented. “Many pollsters have not been able to gauge the undercurrent for BJP. We would do very well in Lok Sabha and Assembly,” he said.