 "Odisha Assembly polls: BJP challenges Naveen Patnaik's BJD in tight race")
The Odisha Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) office in Bhubaneswar is buzzing with celebrations as the resurgent party looks to dent the prospect of Naveen Patnaik’s becoming the longest-serving Chief Minister if the early trends for the high-stakes Assembly elections hold.
Trends on the Election Commission website are available for 138 seats of the 147-member Assembly, with the majority mark to form a government set at 74.
As of 11.21 am, the BJP is leading in 73 seats, followed by Patnaik-Biju Janata Dal (BJD) at 50 seats. While the Congress is leading in 13 seats, CPI(M), Jharkhand Mukti Morcha one each, and independent candidates are ahead in two seats.
Seventy-seven-year-old Patnaik, who is making a bid for a record sixth consecutive term, is trailing in the Kantabanji constituency, but is leading in his bastion Hinjili.
The BJP and the BJD are engaged in a fierce battle in Odisha after the talks of a pre-poll alliance between the two parties in February-March. The BJP has made ‘Odia Ashmita’ (Odia pride) as its major poll plank, targeting bureaucrat-turned-BJD leader V K Pandian’s increasing dominance over Patnaik.
In the last leg of campaigning, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the BJP, if voted to power, would probe Patnaik’s health condition. Patnaik refuted the claims, saying he was in perfect health and that the PM could have talked to him over the phone to ask him about his health instead of speaking about him in public meetings.
In the 2019 elections, the BJD swept the state, winning a whopping 112 seats with a 45.2 per cent vote share, while the BJP secured just 23 seats (32.8 per cent), and the Congress won nine seats (16.3 per cent). According to the Axis My India exit poll, the BJD and the BJP are each expected to win 62-80 seats, while the Congress is projected to win 5-8 seats.