The saffron party is expected to emerge victorious from Puri, Kendrapara, Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, Sundergarh, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Bhadrak, Dhenkanal, Balangir, Kalahandi, Asika and Koraput according to the survey.
In the state where the polls for 21 Lok Sabha seats and 147 Assembly seats will be held simultaneously in four phases on April 11, 18, 23 and 29, CM Naveen Patnaik’s Biju Janata Dal is predicted to win 7 out of the 21 seats. The figures could bother the BJD as, during the 2014 parliamentary polls, the BJD dominated the poll turf winning 20 of the 21 Lok Sabha seats, while the BJP managed just one.
Ahead of the Lok Sabha election, the ruling party president Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik claimed that the BJD will win all the 21 Lok Sabha seats in Odisha and play a major role in government formation at the Centre in the coming elections in which no national party will be able to get a majority. In Odisha, Patnaik will contest the Odisha assembly polls from two seats - Bijepur and his home turf Hinjili. Patnaik's move assumes significance in the backdrop of the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) impressive performance in western Odisha in the 2017 panchayat elections.
The Naveen Patnaik-led regional party won four consecutive assembly elections since 2000 with its seat tally rising every time, but the poll scenario in the state is different this time. Coupled with the opposition surge, disgruntled leaders leaving the BJD have come as a major setback to the ruling party, which once looked invincible. Anti-incumbency factor has also added to its woes.
According to the survey, the Congress party is expected to get win only from Nabarangpur district in Odisha. Ahead of the Lok Sabha Elections in the state, lamenting that Odisha has become an "unemployment centre" under the BJD government, the Congress chief Rahul Gandhi promised to fill the 1.5 lakh government posts lying vacant in the state if his party returns to power after the elections.
Odisha seat-wise break-up below:
- Puri BJP
- Kendrapara BJP
- Cuttack BJP
- Bhubaneswar BJP
- Barghad BJD
- Sundergarh BJP
- Sambalpur BJD
- Keonjhar BJP
- Mayurbhanj BJP
- Balasore BJD
- Bhadrak BJP
- Jajpur BJD
- Dhenkanal BJP
- Balangir BJP
- Kalahandi BJP
- Nabarangpur Congress
- Kandhamal BJD
- Asika BJP
- Berhampore BJD
- Koraput BJP
- Jagatsinghpur BJD
2014 Lok Sabha elections in Odisha:
The main contenders in these polls were Biju Janata Dal, Indian National Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party. The assembly elections were held simultaneously with the general elections in the state. The polls for 21 Lok Sabha seats were held in two phases on 10 and 17 April 2014, where BJD won with 44.10% vote share, Congress got 26% and BJP got 21.50% vote share.
2009 General elections in Odisha:
In 2009 general elections in Odisha, the major contenders in the state were the Third Front, Indian National Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The third front parties contesting in the state were the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the Left parties and the Nationalist Congress Party. The BJD emerged as a party with highest number of seats: 14, whereas Congress and CPI bagged 6 and 1 seats respectively.
2004 General elections in Odisha:
Elections to the 13th Legislative Assembly of Orissa were held in April 2004. 802 candidates from various political parties were in fray, contesting in a total of 147 Assembly constituencies. 1,69,33,456 valid votes were cast in which, owing to the people-centric welfarist schemes of Naveen Patnaik.