The State Congress is upbeat over the pro-Congress results of the Assembly elections in the BJP-ruled States of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh declared on Tuesday.
With general elections most likely in early March next year, the Congress now hopes to replicate the success in Odisha too. Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Niranjan Patnaik said, “Prime Minister Modi wanted a ‘Congress-free India’. He should see the condition of his party in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, where the BJP was in power. Now, the country is going to become a ‘BJP-free India’,” Patnaik remarked.
He said, “After Chhattisgarh, I hope the same situation will repeat here in Odisha where people will reject the ruling BJD and give the Congress a mandate to form government in the upcoming Assembly polls.”
“The way both BJP and BJD created a drought situation in Odisha, we hope to get some relief after discussing the Mahanadi issue with the new government led by the Congress in Chhattisgarh,” he said.
Celebrations broke out in front of party offices across the State with busting of firecrackers, exchange of sweets and dancing to the beats of drums.
BJD spokesperson Arun Sahoo, however, said the poll results of the BJP-ruled States would have no impact in Odisha in the 2019 elections as people of the State continue reposing their trust on Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.