Odisha: CM Naveen Patnaik Set for 5th Term?

The ruling BJD is leading in both Assembly and Lok Sabha seats.

Bhubaneswar: With early trends predicting a win for the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) party in Assembly elections, chief minister Naveen Patnaik may be getting ready for a record fifth term as CM.

Of the 147 assembly seats, BJD is leading in 72 seats, BJP in 21 and the Congress is leading in 8 seats.

However, there is a close fight for the Lok Sabha seats between the BJD and the BJP with the former having a lead in 12 Parliamentary constituencies and the BJP leading in nine.

In 2014, BJD had won 20 Lok Sabha seats while the BJP had managed to win only one. 

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has contested from two assembly seats – Hinjili (Ganjam) and Bijepur (Bargarh).

Patnaik is the seventh longest serving chief minister in the electoral history of the country with over 19 years of chief ministership. If he returns to power, he may become the second-longest serving CM after Pawan Chamling, who is the longest serving CM of Sikkim.

Odisha went to polls in an unprecedented four phases and registered a voter turnout of 73.1 per cent compared with 73.79 per cent in 2014.