Naveen Patnaik urges people to vote for conch symbol, Pandian confident of 90 pc strike rate in first phase polls

Ganjam (Odisha) [India], May 9 : Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday appealed to the people of the state to extend their full support to BJD candidates in the Lok Sabha and assembly polls.
Addressing a meeting in the Gopalpur assembly constituency of Ganjam district, he urged people to vote for a good candidate and not those who face corruption allegations.
"Vote for the Conch symbol both in Lok Sabha and assembly elections," he said.
Addressing the gathering, BJD leader and 5T Chairman VK Pandian expressed confidence that the party will have a 90 per cent strike rate in the first phase of Lok Sabha and assembly polls on May 13 and create a record.
He appealed to people to make it a 100 per cent strike rate in the next three phases of assembly polls.
"BJD will create a record in the first phase election in Odisha for four Lok Sabha and 28 Vidhan Sabha seats. BJD will win these seats with a 90 per cent strike rate," he said.
He alleged that the BJP has made fake promises in 2014 and 2019 election manifestos. He said they have come up with another manifesto for the 2024 polls and people don't have faith in their manifesto.
Earlier, in an exclusive interview with ANI, Pandian had targeted the BJP and said if the party declares its CM candidate in the state against Naveen Patnaik, the BJD's victory will be much larger and the opposition party will not cross single digits.
Voting will be held simultaneously in four phases for Lok Sabha and assembly polls in Odisha beginning May 13. Twenty-eight assembly seats and four Lok Sabha seats will go to the polls in the first phase.