BJD leader VK Pandian on Monday said his party will sweep the Odisha assembly polls and will get a three-fourth majority in the state.
Pandian, a former IAS officer who has been Patnaik’s confidant for years and party's political campaigner, said that the BJD has even fixed the time for Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik's oath-taking in the state.
In an exclusive interview to PTI, Pandian said, "By God's grace and with people's support, the BJD will sweep the polls and we will get three-fourth majority. We have also fixed the time for oath-taking ceremony. On June 9, between 11.30 am to 1 pm, the honourable CM (Naveen Patnaik) will be sworn in for his sixth term."
The election to 147-seat state assembly is being held in Odisha simultaneously with the Lok Sabha elections.
Pandian also took a jibe at the BJP's star campaigners in Odisha calling them “political tourists” who can’t even identify the state capital.
Speaking on the Lok Sabha elections, the BJD leader said that Patnaik's party will get more than the 2019 tally, when it won 12 of the 21 seats in the state, with the BJP getting eight and the Congress one.
Reacting to PM Modi's 'difficult for BJD to survive' remark, VK Pandian said that the prime minister said the same thing in 2019 and added that the BJD has already got the majority after two phases in the state.
"He (PM Modi) said the same thing in 2019 as well. He said that people will give a farewell to Naveen Patnaik. But Naveen Patnaik replied in his own way, in a humble way and said that 'two phases of elections are over and the BJD has already got the majority," he said.
Patnaik is contesting from two seats, Hinjili in Ganjam district and Kantabanji in Bolangir district, where voting took place on Monday. Pandian asserted his boss “will win both seats with a huge majority”.
He added that he is focused on his work and helping CM Naveen Patnaik get his third term.
"I am very focused on what I am doing, I took this conscious call to help the chief minister in getting his sixth term. So, everything else can wait, and I am very focused on helping the chief minister get his next term," BJD leader VK Pandian added.
The BJD has been an on-off ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party. It was part of its NDA alliance until 2009. Just before the 2024 elections, it appeared the two parties will become electoral allies but talks collapsed.