Grapevines here are abuzz with speculations that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been approached by Odisha BJP leaders to contest from the Puri lok Sabha seat in the 2019 general elections.
The argument is Modi began his political career by contesting from “Somnath Dham” in his native State Gujarat and now he is representing “Kashviswanath Dham” Varanasi; so, he should this time seek election from “Jagannath Dham” Puri.
According to a report in a reputed national magazine, Modi during the BJP national executive meeting in Bhubaneswar earlier this month was urged by some BJP State leaders to choose Jagannath Dham as his next constituency.
Obviously, Odisha party leaders expect that if Modi contests from Puri, the emerging saffron surge in the State would turn out to be a tsunami consigning the long-ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) to the Bay of Bengal and bringing the BJP to power in the State.
However, Modi has not yet responded to the request, reports said.