BJP confident of forming next govt in Odisha

BHUBANESWAR: The ruling BJD in Odisha and opposition Congress on Sunday claimed that BJP's poll victories in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh will hardly impact the people of the state. Though the ruling BJD officially did not issue any statement after the results, the regional party's MLA and former minister Samir Ranjan Dash claimed that there will be no impact on the state.

''Last time, BJD had won 114 of 147 assembly seats. This time, out target is 130 seats based on the performance and popularity of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik,'' Dash said. Expressing confidence that Patnaik will return to power for the sixth time after the 2024 elections, the BJD lawmaker said, ''The BJP and Congress are national parties and their performance in other states has no bearing in Odisha where people have chosen the regional party.'' He said the BJD in subsequent elections has raised its vote share and the trend will continue.

Though the Congress lost its governments in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Sarat Pattnayak was elated after the party defeated a regional party in neighbouring Telangana. ''We will adopt the same strategy against the BJD in Odisha and win the elections in 2024,'' Pattnayak said, adding there was no doubt that people have considered Congress as alternative because of the close proximity between the BJD and the BJP.

Justifying his claim, Pattnayak said political analysts should not forget that the Congress, which had only 10 MLAs after the 1990 elections, returned to power in 1995. Therefore, there is nothing to be surprised if the party comes to power in Odisha. The OPCC president said the AICC will analyse the reasons behind the party's defeat in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. He said in both the states, anti-incumbency may be the factor. Asked about the anti-incumbency factor in MP, Pattnayak said, ''Congress was in power in Madhya Pradesh for 18 months and mistakes committed then could be a factor behind the results.''

Meanwhile, elated over the BJP's victories in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, senior leaders in Odisha here claimed that the spectacular show will have a positive impact on the party's performance in the next assembly elections. Union Minister Bishweswar Tudu, BJP national vice-president Baijayant Panda, state party president Manmohan Samal and Bhubaneswar MP Aparajita Sarangi, and many others were of the view that the performance in the three states will definitely influence the 2024 elections. All of them claimed that Sunday's results demonstrated the growing popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. BJP Odisha unit president Manmohan Samal described the four state elections as a semi-final before the final next year and the party is all set to emerge victorious in Odisha.