Amid an intensified exercise to give finishing touches to the candidates’ list for the 147 Assembly seats in Odisha, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the meeting of its Election Management Committee held at the party office on Sunday has drawn up a blueprint for its campaign and roadshows of its top leaders.
BJP’s Central leaders will address big rallies and meetings in various parts of all the Assembly and Lok Sabha seats. The party is also busy deciding the meetings where Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah will attend.
Moreover, as part of its campaign strategy, the BJP has planned to reach out to the people by preparing a charge sheet against the state government.
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The BJP, after saying no to the alliance with BJD, is said to be on a mission mode in Odisha. The party had decided the campaign strategy at its election management committee meeting.
Sources said, to set the tone for the electioneering, big rallies will be organised in 21 Lok Sabha seats. Similar rallies will also be held in 147 Assembly segments.
Party’s top leaders like Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, party’s National President JP Nadda, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Chhatishgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendrabhai Patel and Uttrakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and other popular leaders of the party will attend the big rallies in parliamentary seats. The Prime Minister will also hold roadshows in Odisha.
Vice president of Odisha BJP Golak Mohapatra said, ”We will organise big meetings at 21 Loks Sabha seats where top leaders like Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, party’s National President JP Nadda, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh among others will address the meetings. Besides, similar meetings will be held in 147 Assembly seats and many popular leaders will address the meetings.”
However, BJD legislator Sudhir Samal said that such meetings will have no impact on the BJD, “The BJD has always been with 4.5 crore people in Odisha. We are moving ahead with Mission 2036. Whoever comes to Odisha, it does not matter to us. It will not impact our electoral performance at all,” Samal asserted.
To corner the government, the BJP has decided to bring out a charge sheet against the government. The issues such as ‘hijacking of governance, puppet government, Odia Asmita, administration by non-Odia babus, tainted BJD ministers and involvement of BJD leaders in cases related to women,’ will find places in the charge sheet.
The party will also highlight how the state government is creating obstacles in the implementation of various welfare schemes of the Modi government like Ayushman Bharat, apart from highlighting the unemployment scenario, dearth of teachers and doctors and how the BJD government is favouring the private hospitals in the name of Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana.
Senior journalist Prasanna Mohanty said, ”The BJP will heavily depend on their central leaders. Top leaders like Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and UP CM Yogi Adityanath may come. Odisha will certainly be in the focus of the BJP. The BJP will make ‘Odia Asmita’ a major issue.