Lok Sabha exit polls 2019: BJP seen making inroads in Patnaik's bastion

Most exit polls predict that the Narendra Modi-led NDA would dent the BJD's Lok Sabha tally by 10 seats or more

Almost all of the exit polls made public after the end of the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections on Sunday have predicted handsome gains for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Odisha at the expense of the Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal (BJD), which has been in power in the state.

The exit poll outcomes for Odisha seem to be in sync with the broader national political scene, where the BJP-led NDA is seen reclaiming a majority. Some experts have cited split voting preferences of Odisha’s electorate to explain the BJP’s projected gains in Lok Sabha numbers, even as the BJD is expected to retain its majority in the state Assembly.

The exit polls 2019 conducted by national TV channels show BJD’s Lok Sabha tally of 20 coming down by at least 10 seats. In 2014, the BJD had won 20 of the state’s 21 Lok Sabha seats, and also recorded a landslide victory in the state Assembly polls. In the state Assembly, the BJD had bagged 117 of the 147 seats. The regional party had in 2014 been unfazed by the so-called Narendra Modi wave.

However, if the current exit polls are anything to go by, the BJD’s dominance in the state might be weakening. The Republic-CVoter exit poll has predicted that the BJP will make major incursions in Odisha, winning 10 of the state’s 21 Lok Sabha constituencies. The remaining 10 are seen going to the BJD. The Republic-Jan Ki Baat survey has given the BJP a bigger leverage, predicting that the saffron party would grab 12 seats, while the BJD would finish a modest second with eight. The Times Now exit poll, too, has predicted similar results, favouring the BJP. Only the India TV exit poll has given the BJD a sufficient lead over its nearest rival, the BJP — its findings give the BJD 15 seats, and the BJP six.

A BJD leader who did not wish to be named conceded that his party this time faced a tough competition from the BJP in some seats, but quickly added: “Our results will be much better than what the exit polls have forecast. In Odisha, it will be Naveen babu’s government yet again.”