BJP comes up with action plan to topple govt in Odisha; BJD says it will have no impact

The fiery speeches by the newly-elected Odisha BJP president Manmohan Samal, BJP National Vice-President Baijayant Panda and other senior leaders of the saffron party on Sunday has infused new energy among the party workers who are now getting ready to the topple the ruling BJD-government in the 2024 elections.

The state unit of the BJP has now drawn up a strategy and action plan to take on the Naveen Patnaik-led BJD government in Odisha.

The newly appointed BJP chief said yesterday, “We may get either three months or six months or nine months. But we are always ready for elections. Neither will we sleep nor will we let anyone sleep. Naveen Babu, we will not let you sleep,” he said.

“The BJD has started to make mistakes after mistakes and the dictatorship regime will end here and the BJP will form government here,” said Samal today.

BJP National Vice President Baijayant Panda also took the opportunity to target the ruling BJD. “You should know why the party workers are so energetic today. They are so because the Bharatiya Janata Party has served a notice to the ruling party. Their (BJD) notice period has started from today and will last till the coming general elections,” he had said.

The Leader of the Opposition (LoP), Jayanarayan Mishra also struck a chord with the party activists by stating that nobody can stop them from forming the government if they are ready to take bullets on chest and go to jail. Mishra today said that, “We will bring a charge-sheet and we will intensify our agitation from panchayats to the Secretariat.”

These statements by the senior leadership of the BJP is a clear indication that the party will leave no stone unturned to achieve its mission to form the government in Odisha. A roadmap and blueprint is almost ready to counter the BJD by raking up issues pertaining to farmers, deteriorating law and order, corruption, neglect of backward classes among others.

The BJP is keen to reach out to the people with a 'chargesheet' against the government and the leaders reaffirmed that they will form the government by grabbing at least 51 percent vote share in the upcoming crucial elections.

Amidst the claims, political pundits and experts feel that the BJP leadership, right from the Centre to the state need to work in tandem against the BJD if they want to achieve success in the election.

“We are good with BJP at the Centre and slam state BJP unit in Odisha. Whatever happens in state, but good relations are maintained at Centre. How can the results be as per expectations till the BJP leadership from Centre to State don't work in unison,” said senior journalist, K Ravi.

"There has been a rise in the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi while the popularity of Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik is dropping and it will shrink further," the newly-appointed Odisha BJP president Manmohan Samal and senior leader KV Singhdeo have assessed.

The ruling BJD on the other hand claimed that the saffron party leaders are daydreaming, as CM Naveen Patnaik will be elected for the sixth term and their party will form the next government in the state.

“Be it 2023 or 2024, the BJD will come to power again and Naveen Patnaik will be the chief minister for the sixth term,” said BJD MLA, Uma Samantaray.

(Reported by Harihar Chand and Jagdish Das)