After the announcement of BJP national president Amit Shah’s three-day visit to the State from September 6, the political atmosphere in the State has hotted up with the BJP and the BJD engaging in a bitter verbal duel.
Pachayati Raj Minister Pradeep Maharathy on Monday took a jibe at Shah’s visit and the BJP’s ‘Mo Booth Sabuthu Majbhoot’, said, “If they are guarding the booths, we are guarding the wards. A booth consists of four wards, and if we keep an eye on the wards, people won’t go to the booths.”
Maharathy said, “Shah’s magic won’t work in Odisha. We have lord Jagannath’s hand on us. The BJD will win the next elections.
The BJP was vanquished in ZP elections in the party’s State president Basant Panda’s own district Nuapada. The BJD also won the recent local polls in Deogarh comfortably.”
Strongly reacting to Maharathy’s statement, Basant Panda said, “The BJD has been looting the State for more than 17 years. Naveen Patnaik is a dictator and his party men are also behaving like dictators.
The BJP may have lost in my constituency, but overall our party won.” “They (BJD) won in one constituency due to rampant use of money and muscle power.
But that doesn’t guarantee wins all over Odisha. lord Jagannath will bless the good and virtuous,” Panda said.
“The growing popularity of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah in the State is giving jitters to the BJD,” Panda added.