The BJP units of Sambalpur and even most other parts of western Odisha are not interested to have Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Dr Raman Singh as the star campaigner during the ongoing panchayat elections.
And the reason is crystal clear. “The role played by Dr Singh in the Mahanadi water issue is not only rejected by the people of Odisha but by a large section of the BJP too. Hence, his presence will prove detrimental for the party in the elections, which are considered to be the semifinal before the general election in 2019,” a good number of party workers and many seniors feel.
“But we are unable to make any comment on this since the decision is taken at the central level to send Dr Singh to western Odisha for election campaigning,” say the same party workers requesting anonymity.
“We are not satisfied with the activities of Dr Singh on the Mahanadi issue. Even, we don’t appreciate the stand taken by the Centre on it. But as juniors, we can’t say anything against the decision of the State or central leadership. However, we have given our opinion in the appropriate forums of the party,” said the party juniors.
If the party doesn’t give importance to our opinion, it has to face the consequence since the people of Sambalpur and also of the entire Mahanadi bank are neither satisfied with the Centre or Dr Raman Singh in this particular issue,” they said.
It is further learnt that the funding of the BJP candidates is coming from Chhattisgarh. Hence, any anti-Raman remark may come in the way of funding.
But the seniors in the party including district president Ramachandra Meher denied any funding from Chhattisgarh. “All these are just false propaganda,” Meher remarked.