Bhubaneswar: Mid way into the Panchayat elections in Odisha, the ruling BJD today called Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the "PM of BJP" and not of India.
"Modi had mentioned BJP's success in Odisha's panchayat elections at an election rally at Kannauj in Uttar Pradesh yesterday. He was seeking votes from the people of UP by saying that the people of Odisha supported BJP in the rural polls. It indicates that Narendra Modi is not the Prime Minister of India, but of the BJP," the BJD said in a statement.
Stating that the elections to the posts of Sarpanch, Ward members and Samiti 'Sabhya' (member) are held without party symbol according to the Odisha Panchayat Act, BJD general secretary and spokesman Bijay Nayak said only Zilla Parishad candidates contest the polls using party symbols.
"There is an attempt to lower the standard of rural polls and politicise it in Odisha. It is also now clear that the Prime Minister has not maintained dignity of the post he is holding," the BJD said in the statement.
Criticising Union Ministers for politicising the state panchayat polls, Nayak said they even campaigned for candidates contesting for the posts of Ward members.
Claiming that people of the country have hailed note ban, the Prime Minister while addressing a rally in Kannauj in Uttar Pradesh yesterday had said this was proved by BJP's victories in the Panchayat polls in Odisha, Municipal elections in Chandigarh and Gujarat and Vidhan Parishad polls in UP.
Though the counting of votes in Odisha Panchayat elections are held soon after polling gets over, the State Election Commission has not formally announced the results of the first two phases of polls held so far, and has said the results will be declared only after completion of the entire five phase of polling.In the previous Panchayat elections held in 2012, BJD had won 654, Congress 128 and BJP 36 seats of the total 854 Zilla Parishad seats in Odisha.