Naveen Patnaik may have tough day on Saturday

BHUBANESWAR: Who will be the next Orissa chief minister? Whether Biju Janata Dal (BJD) supremo and caretaker chief minister Naveen Patnaik will be able to retain his gaddi for third successive tenure, is anybody���s guess. Going by the exit polls conducted by several media organisations, Orissa will have a hung assembly after nearly three decades. But in the past, poll predictions have gone awry to say the least. Neither the ruling BJD nor the main opposition Congress is in a position to get the magic number of 74 in the 147-member Assembly.

While Congress exit poll survey says the party will get 65 Assembly seats, BJD will get between 55, well short of the required number. Similarly, BJP exit poll has given Congress between 60 and 64 seats while it has predicted 55 to 58 seats for BJD.

Almost all exit polls, excepting BJP���s, have said BJD headed by Naveen Patnaik will get between 8 to 10 Lok Sabha seats and play a crucial role in the formation of the government at the Centre. Congress will get nine LS seats while the rest will get to BJP and others. BJP survey says the party would get six LS seats.

Sources in BJD said the party, if it fails to get absolute majority in the state Assembly, would weigh various options before declaring its support to any front at the Centre. Although BJD chief Mr Patnaik has said on record that his party would not be a part of any government led by Congress or BJP, he may make a volte face after the results are out on Saturday.

Says political commentator Ravi Das: ���Congress as a party has done not much in cashing on the anti-incumbency swing. The party failed to match the ruling BJD in campaigning in at least 10 districts. The split in the BJD-BJP alliance will only ensure a close race with many upsetting results.���