2019 Lok Sabha election results for Odisha: BJP makes inroads by winning 7 seats, worry for BJD even as Naveen Patnaik wins assembly election

After seven phases of polls spread across 39 days, the Lok Sabha elections in India has finally come to an end with the verdict of who will form the next government out. While the nation is waiting to see its elected representatives in the 17th Lok Sabha, BJP has made inroads in the state of Odisha and BJD has maintained it position in the state. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, voting in 21 Lok Sabha constituencies and 147 assembly seats was held simultaneously in Odisha.

Results:

BJD has won 2 seats & leading in 10 while BJP has won 1 seat and leading in 7. The Congress leading in 1 out of 21 Lok Sabha seats in Odisha (as per EC at 8 am, May 24)

 

Republic Double Exit Polls prediction

As per CVoter projections, a neck-to-neck competition between BJP-led NDA and current CM Naveen Patnaik-led BJD was projected. BJD was projected to win 9 to 11 seats less than what the party got in the 2014 polls, which was a massive 20 Lok Sabha seats, leaving just one for the BJP.

The UPA was predicted to left far behind with 0 mark, which is similar to its seat-share in the 2014 General Elections.  

The Jan Ki Baat Exit Poll predicted BJP to win an estimated seat-share between 11 to 13, while BJD was projected to come second with an estimated seat share of 7 to 9. Congress was projected to be blanked out in Odisha at an estimated seat share of 0 to 1.

Campaign and Controversy

In what may be called the biggest jolt to the BJD, Baijayant Jay Panda left the BJD and joined BJP before elections and was made National Vice President of the party.

The state witnessed fierce campaigning by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at one side and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on the other. Both addressing multiple rallies across the state. Elections in Odisha had made it a two-cornered fight this election season with BJD-led Naveen Patnaik, running for the chief ministership for the fifth time in a row and the BJP under the guidance of Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan and the Congress under state unit president Niranjan Patnaik.

While the Prime Minister slammed the Naveen Patnaik-led Odisha government for "not cooperating" with the Centre to bring about speedy development in the state by not implementing central schemes to ensure the welfare of Odiyas, the BJD said that the central schemes has already been implemented in the state as they have their version of those schemes.

READ: 2019 Lok Sabha Election Results: Modi-Nitish Smash Bihar 'gathbandhan', Bag Almost All The State's Seats

2014 General Elections

In 2014, amidst ‘Modi wave’ Naveen Patnaik BJD won 20 out of the total 21 seats in the state. However, BJP that won no seats after in the state in 2009 election after the alliance between BJP and BJD was broken, gained 1 seat with Congress going down to zero seats from winning 6 seats in 2009.  

Key Contest:
Kendrapara - Odisha's Kendrapara seat witnessed a contest between Baijayant 'Jay' Panda who was the BJD MP from 2009 till he resigned in 2018 and joined BJP. Declared the vice president of the party, he was pitted against BJD's actor-turned-politician Anubhav Mohanty who is a Rajya Sabha member. Jay Panda was decimated by Mohanty who won 628939 votes compared to Panda's 476355.

Puri - In a contest of well-known party faces, BJP's national spokesperson Sambit Patra was pitched against BJD counterpart Pinaki Mishra who is the sitting MP, with Congress' Odisha unit media cell chief Satyaprakash Nayak also in the fray. Patra lost to Mishra by 11000 votes in a close contest.