Odisha masses set to bid farewell to Naveen Patnaik: Nadda at Bhubaneswar roadshow

Holding a roadshow in the Odisha capital in support of party candidates, BJP president J P Nadda on Thursday asserted that people of the state have ”decided to give rest” to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik by electing the saffron party to power.

Nadda, who was standing in a saffron-coloured open-hood vehicle flanked by Bhubaneswar’s BJP MP and candidate Aparajita Sarangi and Ekamra-Bhubaneswar assembly seat’s party nominee Babu Singh, was seen waving at crowds on both sides of the road during the roadshow from Mausina Chhak to Lingaraj temple.

People greeted the BJP president and showered petals on him from buildings on either side of the road, while BJP workers participating in the roadshow waved party flags and raised slogans.

Speaking to reporters during the three-km roadshow, Nadda said people’s enthusiasm indicates that they have ”decided to give rest” to Naveen Patnaik, who has been ruling Odisha for the last 24 years, and elect a BJP government in the state.

Referring to the first phase of simultaneous elections in the state on May 13, when voting was held in four Lok Sabha seats and 28 assembly constituencies, Nadda said, ”The BJD has missed the bus.” Asked on the BJP’s probable CM face in Odisha, Nadda said the saffron party had decided on its chief ministers in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan within three days of the election results.

”Odisha will also see something similar,” he said.

Nadda’s roadshow in Bhubaneswar was held a day after Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s roadshow in neighbouring Cuttack.

Later in the day, Nadda is scheduled to address two public meetings in Bargarh and Sundargarh Lok Sabha seats. The BJP president arrived in Odisha on Wednesday.

Chief Minister and BJD president Naveen Patnaik is also scheduled to take out a roadshow in the state capital in the evening. Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge will hold a press conference later in the day. He is also scheduled to address a rally at Phulbani in Kandhamal district. His visit came a day after senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi addressed an election rally in Bolangir.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had visited Odisha twice for election campaigning, is set to visit again on May 20. Apart from Union ministers, the chief ministers of BJP-ruled Assam, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan have also campaigned in Odisha.

Simultaneous elections to the 147 assembly seats and 21 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state are underway.