Patnaik set for record fifth term

New Delhi: Without breaking from tradition, Odisha has once again voted for the same party in the assembly as well as the Lok Sabha elections held simultaneously. But the BJP has made solid inroads in the eastern state, leading in eight of Odisha's 21 Lok Sabha seats.

Four-term chief minister Naveen Patnaik of the Biju Janata Dal continues to be popular and has again managed to buck anti-incumbency. At 8:30 pm, the party was leading in 113 of the 146 assembly seats.

However, in the Lok Sabha elections, the BJD's dominance faced a serious challenge from the BJP, with the ruling party leading in 13 seats — down from the 20 it won in 2014.

The BJP was also leading in 21 assembly seats, up from 10 in the last elections, while the Congress has been reduced to a marginal player, leading in only 9 assembly seats.See inside