Bhubaneswar: BJD president and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik claimed Tuesday that the ruling party would perform "extremely well" in the upcoming Lok Sabha and assembly elections.
"I am sure that the Biju Janata Dal will do extremely well in the forthcoming elections," Patnaik told reporters at the state secretariat here.
His statement came two days after BJP's national general secretary Bhupender Yadav claimed that the saffron party would form government in Odisha on its own.
BJP's secretary Suresh Pujari had claimed that the party would sweep the polls in the western district and bag all the 40 assembly seats in the region.
Patnaik, four-time chief minister, will lead his regional party to the elections with the anti-incumbency factor.
The BJD, however, has overcome the anti-incumbency keeping in view the results of by-elections and local body polls.
The term of the present Odisha Assembly will end on June 11.
At present, the BJD has 118 MLAs in the 147-member Odisha Assembly.
The Opposition Congress, on the other hand, had been claiming that no one could stop the party to return to power in Odisha.
"Naveen's politics is not based on any ideology. He has been poaching leaders from the Congress to strengthen his party. However, he will not succeed in elections," Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Niranjan Patnaik said.
Earlier in the day, senior Congress leader of Bargarh district Pranaya Kumar Sahu formally joined the Biju Janata Dal.
Accompanied by his supporters and sitting BJD MLA of Bijepur constituency Rita Sahu, Pranaya arrived at the Naveen Niwas here and formally joined the ruling party in the presence of Patnaik.