Bhubaneswar: Veteran Congress leader and MLA Suresh Routray on Thursday claimed that the party will win at least 100 of the 147 Assembly seats in Odisha if Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) forge an alliance for the twin elections.
Asserting that BJD-BJP alliance will immensely benefit Congress in the simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly polls in the state, the Jatani legislator told reporters that his party will win more Parliamentary seats in case of a tie-up between the two.
Congress will be in a position to win at least 14 of the 21 Lok Sabha seats in the state if BJD and BJP enter into an electoral understanding and seat-adjustment, he claimed.
If BJD and BJP fail to forge an alliance, Congress would secure around 96 seats in the 147-member Odisha Assembly, Routray said, adding that the party would win 10-11 Lok Sabha seats in the state.
Claiming that Congress is all set to form government in Odisha after the elections, he said the party will also storm into power at the Centre.
Coming down heavily on both BJD and BJP, the senior Congress leader accused the two political parties of working together to loot the resources of Odisha and exploit the people of the state. The two parties are responsible for largescale corruption and a series of scams in the state, he claimed.
Reiterating his decision of not contesting election any more, Routray said his two sons would foray into electoral politics and contest from Jatani and Nimapara Assembly constituencies.
The firebrand leader further claimed that Congress would win at least three of the five Assembly seats in Khurda district. “Efforts are on to win all the five Assembly seats in Khurda district,” the Congress MLA said.
