BJP braces for panchayat polls in Odisha

Bhubaneswar:  The state BJP today began its preparation for the ensuing panchayat polls in Odisha scheduled in February next year.

The core team of the saffron party prepared a blueprint at a meeting at its headquarters office in the capital city here this afternoon and reviewed the party’s organisational activities in the presence of party’s state in-charge Arun Singh, Union Petroleum and Natural Gas minister Dharmendra Pradhan and the leaders and workers of the zilla parishads and blocks of Nuapada, Dhenkanal, Kalahandi, Angul and Khurda districts.

This was followed by another meeting of the state party office-bearers in which strategies were discussed to take on the BJD government on various issues.

Briefing the media after the meeting, party’s state in-charge Arun Singh said the state BJP has formulated action plan for the panchayat polls under the leadership of the state party president Basant Panda.

“The activity and performance of the party till date is very satisfactory. In the state executive meeting of the party tomorrow, we will discuss about the strategies to improve the performance of the party further to throw the useless and inactive BJD government out of power in Odisha”, he pointed out.

Talking to media persons about the ongoing Mahanadi issue at the Biju Patnaik International Airport after his arrival from New Delhi, Union Petroleum and Natural Gas minister Dharmendra Pradhan said the chief minister is giving different statements to the media at different times only to hide his weakness.

“It would have been appropriate if he had passed a resolution on Mahanadi issue in the State Assembly with the unanimous consent of all members including the Opposition. The resoluteness the chief minister had on Mahanadi issue earlier seems to have vanished in the thin air”, he added.

He further said the chief minister has to give clarifications to the people of Odisha on the poor health services, education, agriculture and last but not the least the failure of the state government in not providing employment to the unemployed youths.

Reacting to the statement of the Union minister, BJD spokesperson Amar Prasad Satpathy said the state government is trying its best to solve all existing and emerging issues.

But he said the BJD government will have its opinion on what it has done for Odisha and the step-motherly attitude of the Centre towards the state particularly on Mahanadi and Polavaram.