Odisha: BJD, BJP claim of winning big in first phase polls

Bhubaneswar:  As the first phase elections are over in Odisha, the Biju Janata Dal and Bharatiya Janata Party  (BJP) today claimed maximum seats in the twin polls.

The polling was held on May 13 in four Lok Sabha constituencies Koraput, Nabarangpur, Berhampur and Kalahandi and 28 Assembly segments.

 BJD leader V K Pandian claimed that the regional party will secure at least 24 of the 28 assembly seats in the phase 1 elections.

“BJD is sweeping the elections whether it is first, second, third or fourth phase. In the first phase, BJD is winning a minimum of 24 out of 28 seats,” Pandian said.

The regional party in 2019 had won 20 of the 28 assembly seats while BJP got 4 assembly seats followed by Congress 3 and an Independent.

However, Pandian did not give any figures on the Lok Sabha seats.

“I will not speak on Lok Sabha results. It is a big thing. However, we will definitely perform better than 2019,” he said.

Pandian claimed that there was a Naveen Patnaik wave this time.

On the other hand, BJP Odisha election In-charge Vijaypal Singh Tomar claimed that the saffron party will win all four Lok Sabha constituencies and 18 out of 28 Assembly seats.

Tomar said BJP will win at least 16 of the 21 Lok Sabha seats and form the government in Odisha.

Notably, Odisha recorded a voter turnout of 73.97 per cent in the first phase.

A voter turnout of over 64.81 per cent was recorded till 6 pm on May 13. A revised figure of 73.97 per cent was released on Tuesday.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections the voter turnout in the four Lok Sabha and 28 Assembly segments was 74.18 per cent.

The highest voter turnout of 80.22 per cent was recorded in the tribal-dominated Nabarangpur Parliamentary seat followed by Koraput (76.98 pc), Kalahandi (75.71 pc) and Berhampur (63.34 pc).