May 27th 2024.
In the bustling town of Kendrapara, amidst the ongoing election season, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik took to the stage on Monday to address the people. With a fiery tone and a break from his usual practice of avoiding personal attacks, Patnaik openly criticized BJP's national vice-president Baijayant Panda. Without explicitly mentioning his name, the Chief Minister accused the two-time MP of betraying both himself and the people of Kendrapara Lok Sabha constituency.
Patnaik, who was there to endorse BJD candidate Anshuman Mohanty, did not hold back in his scathing remarks towards Panda. He expressed his disappointment in the former MP, who was elected to the Lok Sabha under the BJD banner in 2009 and 2014 before their split. In 2019, Panda contested from the same seat on a BJP ticket but lost to BJD's nominee and popular actor Anubhav Mohanty by a margin of over 1.5 lakh votes.
Drawing attention to Panda's alleged neglect of the constituency during his tenure, Patnaik portrayed it as a betrayal of trust. He emphasized how the people of Kendrapara had given him the responsibility of the area for 10 years, but he did not do anything for their betterment. Instead, he worked for his own gain and that of his company, disregarding the needs of the people. This, according to Patnaik, was a betrayal not only to himself but also to the people who had put their faith in him.
Appealing to the electorate of Kendrapara, a constituency that holds sentimental value for the BJD as it was Biju Patnaik's 'karmabhoomi', the Chief Minister urged them to support BJD candidates in both the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. The BJD has had a stronghold in Kendrapara, winning the Lok Sabha seat consecutively from 1998 to 2019 and sweeping all seven Assembly segments in 2019.
Responding to Patnaik's accusations, Panda, an industrialist-turned-politician, dismissed them as desperate tactics and insinuated external influence on the Chief Minister's statements. He claimed that someone else, colloquially referred to as 'Tamil Babu', was feeding these allegations to the Chief Minister, prompting him to make such statements.
Backing up Patnaik's sentiments, senior BJD leader Kartik Pandian accused Panda of prioritizing personal interests over public welfare during his tenure. He further sharpened his attack by stating that Panda focused on his company's growth rather than working for the betterment of the people. Pandian also highlighted how Panda waived his company's loan while serving on the Parliament's finance committee and even tried to become the chairman of the committee, but was rejected by the Chief Minister.
Throughout the day, Patnaik addressed election rallies in Jagatsinghpur and Rahama, where he also accused the opposition parties, especially the BJP, of spreading lies about Odisha and his government. He vehemently stated that the opposition parties had no concern for the people of the state and were only trying to mislead them in a desperate attempt to get votes. He urged the people to see through their lies and continue to support the BJD for the betterment of Odisha.
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