Bhubaneswar: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is all set to form the next government in Odisha as candidates of the party are leading in around 80 Assembly seats of the total 147 in the state.

This would be the maiden BJP government in Odisha.

Candidates of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) are leading in 48 Assembly seats while nominees of the Congress party are ahead in 15 segments in the state.

The BJP was the coalition partner of BJD during the latter’s first two terms of government in Odisha in 2000 and 2004.

After snapping its ties with the BJP in 2008, the Naveen Patnaik-led BJD managed to form government in Odisha for three terms in 2009, 2014 and 2019.

The BJD had won 112 seats in Odisha in 2019 Assembly elections while the BJP bagged 22 seats. The Congress party got nine seats in the state.

BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik has been in Office as the Chief Minister of Odisha for the last 24 years and he was supposed to become the longest serving Chief Minister in the country if his party could win the Assembly polls for the sixth consecutive term in 2024.