Elections 2019: BJP to gain in Odisha, predicts ‘ABP-CVoter’ survey

Bhubaneswar: The ABP News-C Voter ‘Desh ka Mood’ survey has predicted that Narendra Modi-led BJP is likely to win big in Odisha during the upcoming 2019 general elections even though it will not be a smooth ride for its ruling alliance NDA, which is projected to emerge victorious in 276 of the 543 Lok Sabha seats across the country.

According to the predictions, while the saffron party is likely to win majority of the Lok Sabha seats in Odisha, it will push the ruling BJD to second place.

"BJP is seeking to brighten its prospects in the eastern state where speculations of PM Narendra Modi contesting on a seat in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections are rife. If that happens, BJP-led NDA is likely to get 13 seats," the survey report quoted.

The survey also stated that it will be a major setback for BJD which will win six Lok Sabha seats out of 21 seats, while others including Congress may get just two if elections are held today.

In terms of vote shares, the survey projected that the NDA will grab 39.6 vote shares whereas the BJD and Congress-backed UPA will win 31.6 votes and 23.5 votes respectively. The rest 5.3 vote share will go to others.

Asked about the survey report, BJP leader Golak Mohapatra said “People of the state have lost confidence in both BJD and the Congress which is the B-team of the ruling party in Odisha, so the reports on the rising support to the BJP is an indicator of party’s success in its 120 mission.”

On the other hand, Congress has termed the survey as baseless. "There is no base for the predictions as it does not give results more often than not. Congress is going to bounce back in the Centre and in Odisha too, it will come to power," said party leader Ashok Samal.

Leader of Opposition, Narsingha Mishra said “We cannot accept the survey results. There might be some mistake in conducting the survey or it is being promoted with some purpose.”

“If this is the survey report now, then NDA might go down below 200 after six months,” Mishra quipped.

Meanwhile, ruling-BJD spokesperson Sasmit Patra responded “As far as I know, there are 3 to 4 surveys which peg BJD to win 17 to 19 seats out of the 21 Lok Sabha seats in Odisha. Yesterday, a new survey has come up pointing at a different scenario.”

“A lot of these surveys will come and go. The people of Odisha will ultimately decide whom they will support,” Patra added.

The latest opinion poll commissioned by ABP News & C-Voter has revealed that NDA may get 276 seats, while the UPA is projected to win 112 seats and 155 seats in the 543-member Lok Sabha will go to other parties if elections are held today.

It is to be noted that the BJP had won 282 seats and the NDA 336 in the 2014 general elections.

Even as the NDA is set to retain power, the worry for it would be a dip in its nationwide vote share compared to 2014. It is seen getting 38% as against UPA's 25%, the opinion poll said.

According to the survey, though PM Modi's popularity has dipped by at least 6% since the last opinion poll, he is still the first choice for the Prime Minister post ahead of Congress president Rahul Gandhi.

Congress would emerge as winners in Uttar Pradesh in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, if it joins hands with the SP-BSP alliance, the survey stated.