Bhubaneswar: Terming a survey predicting its rout in Odisha in the next Lok Sabha polls as a ‘sponsored’ exercise, Congress on Sunday asserted that the party will put up a very good show as the people of the state are desperately in favour of a change.
Asked about India TV-CNX Opinion Poll predicting 13 Lok Sabha seats for the ruling BJD and 8 for BJP, Congress leader and state party’s campaign committee chairman Bijay Patnaik claimed that the survey, being circulated all over, was sponsored.
The opinion poll says that Naveen Patnaik-led BJD is likely to get 45 per cent votes in Odisha, while BJP is expected to secure 41 per cent votes and Congress 11 per cent in 2024 polls. While BJD is likely to get 13 of the 21 Lok Sabha seats, the rest 8 will go to BJP and Congress will fail to win a single seat, it says.
Dismissing the survey outcome, Patnaik said that he along with party leaders has been touring the state and obtaining the opinion of the people, who are clearly in favour of bringing a political change in the next elections.
“People are also very much aware of the fact that BJD and BJP are together. People in Odisha are seriously looking for an alternative. Therefore, they will definitely vote for Congress,” the Congress leader said.
Stating that Congress will put up a good show in 2024, Patnaik said the party is likely to secure at least 15 of the 21 Lok Sabha seats in the state.
Describing the poll predictions as erroneous, BJD MPs Amar Patnaik and Munna Khan said the party will perform well and win almost all the 21 Lok Sabha seats in the state in 2024. It will be difficult for BJP to get a single seat in the next Lok Sabha election, they said.
Khan said the ruling BJD will certainly bag 20 Lok Sabha seats, while the remaining one seat will be either won by the BJP or the Congress.
Odisha BJP President Manmohan Samal said the survey has made proper predictions and the saffron party will work hard to further strengthen its base.
The India TV-CNX opinion poll has predicted that the ‘INDIA’ bloc by 26-Opposition parties will face an uphill task to defeat Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is expected to remain way ahead if Lok Sabha Elections 2024 are held today.
According to the survey, BJP is likely to maintain a clear lead in states including- Karnataka, Gujarat, Goa, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and north-eastern states excluding Manipur.
The INDIA bloc will add to Opposition’s fortune in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Manipur, Punjab and Bihar, however, it may not succeed in its ultimate aim to defeat the NDA-BJP in 2024 Lok Sabha elections, it said.
