Pradhan confident of BJP forming govt in Odisha

Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Sunday exuded confidence that the BJP would come to power in Odisha, saying the state was moving towards a "big change".

"BJP will form the government in Odisha and win more number of Lok Sabha seats in the state, where people have made up their mind to see victory for the party," Pradhan said, while responding to queries at a function here.

To a query about a recent survey claiming that 59 per cent of the respondents favoured Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik as the next chief minister again, Pradhan said the study also showed Prime Minister Narendra Modi was a favourite among the people in the state.

"The survey claims that BJD will win more Assembly seats, while BJP will get maximum votes for Lok Sabha. The same survey claims that people in Odisha have voted more for Narendra Modi's governance," he said.

On the soaring prices of petrol and diesel, Pradhan said the BJD government in Odisha had a "moral responsibility" to cut tax on the fuel in the interest of the people.

Meanwhile, BJD MP Soumya Ranjan Patnaik said Pradhan's claim of BJP coming to power in the state was no less than "day dream".

"People of the state have voted for BJD in all the elections in the past 18 years," he said.