May 13th 2024.
Bhubaneswar, the capital city of Odisha, was buzzing with speculations about the announcement of BJP's chief ministerial candidate. Manmohan Samal, the party's Odisha unit chief, addressed the media on Monday and revealed that the decision regarding the CM candidate will be taken by the party's parliamentary committee.
The press conference was attended by prominent leaders such as Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, former Union minister and Balasore MP Pratap Sarangi, Bhubaneswar MP Aparajita Sarangi, and the party's national vice-president Baijayant Panda. However, earlier in the day, the ruling BJD leaders were busy making posts on social media, predicting that the BJP will announce its CM face on Monday.
In response to this, Samal stated, "They should focus on their own party instead of worrying about us. The BJD lacks a strong leader and is being run by an agent. Our parliamentary committee will make the final decision on the BJP's CM candidate."
On the other hand, BJD MP and national spokesperson Sasmit Patra claimed that the BJP could not announce its CM candidate due to internal disputes among the aspirants. He further added, "We had all heard that the Odisha BJP will declare their CM candidate today, but they were too busy quarreling amongst themselves. The party in Odisha will split into four if they declare a CM candidate."
Kartik Pandian, a BJD leader and close aide of CM Naveen Patnaik, also urged the BJP to announce their CM face before the elections. He confidently stated that the saffron party will not even get 10% of the votes if they make such a declaration. Samal also expressed his belief that the BJP will win all four Lok Sabha constituencies and the majority of assembly seats in the current elections.
Bringing up a recent statement made by Pandian about the 2008 Kandhamal riots, Balasore MP Pratap Sarangi urged the people to vote out the BJD government. He also blamed CM Naveen Patnaik for the murder of VHP leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati, which had led to communal riots in Kandhamal.
Sarangi accused the security personnel of being absent when Saraswati and his associates were shot by criminals. Bhubaneswar MP Aparajita Sarangi questioned the state government's decision to entrust the Puri Heritage Corridor project to a south Indian firm with no prior experience. She challenged the party leader 'Sana Babu' to explain the motive behind this decision and urged the public to verify the company's credentials.
Aparajita also pointed out that the Tamil Nadu Generation Distribution Corporation was purchasing power from Odisha at a lower rate of 2.52 paisa per unit, while the state's own consumers were being charged 2.82 paisa. She questioned the government's reason for providing cheaper power to other states while charging their own people more.
Baijayant Panda, the party's national vice-president, expressed his concerns about the CM being controlled by someone from outside the state. He stated, "The person whom the people of Odisha had elected as their leader is now being controlled like a puppet." Panda, who has a long-standing relationship with the Biju Parivar, shared his personal hurt and urged for the CM to be freed from this "jail-like" situation.
Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan brought up the issue of migration and questioned why people from Odisha were migrating to Gujarat if everything was fine in the state. He referred to Pandian's data on Odisha's better performance than Gujarat and challenged his claims. The press conference ended on this note, with everyone eagerly waiting for the upcoming elections.
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