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Bhubaneswar: With the exit polls predicting that the BJP will make inroads in Odisha, a war of words has ensued among the leaders of the major parties in the state. While BJP claims that the 'Modi wave' will help the party form government in Odisha, both the BJD and the Congress questioned the authenticity of the predictions.
Going by the exit poll predictions of various survey agencies, BJP is expected to win over 11 Lok Sabha seats out of 21 in Odisha. Some also predicted BJP to win 15-19 LS seats in the State. In case of Assembly seats, BJD is once again the favorite and exit polls predict that Naveen Patnaik-led BJD will once again form government.
However, buoyed by the exit poll predictions, the saffron party leaders in Odisha claim that the party will also get to the magic figure of '74' and form government in Odisha.
"Exit poll predictions for Odisha Assembly might prove wrong as the BJP will win over 70 seats against its target of 120 seats and form government in the State," said Union Minister Jual Oram.
BJP national vice president Baijayant Panda said that all exit polls can't be wrong. "BJP is the only party whose seats both in Assembly and LS have increased while for both the other parties (BJD and Congress) have decreased... An increase in the LS seats will also have an impact in the State and it may increase our performance in the Assembly seats," said Panda.
However, BJD spokesperson Samir Das said that the party will once again form government in Odisha. "People of Odisha want to see Naveen Patnaik as the chief minister once again and so, we are confident of winning over 14 LS seats and 105 Assembly seats," said Das.
On the other hand, senior BJD leader Prafulla Chandra Ghadai said that the party's Lok Sabha tally in 2019 will dip as compared to 2014 polls, whereas its position will remain unchanged in terms of Assembly seats.
