Bhubaneswar: Not happy with the unofficial results of the three-tier Panchayat polls which concluded in Odisha on Tuesday, chief minister and BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik expressed his resentment over the performance of his party though it managed to get more seats than its arch rival BJP and Congress.
Referring to the outcome of the unofficial results of the Panchayat polls at the party’s legislature meeting here today, Patnaik cautioned the party MLAs on the drastic loss of seats and told them to work diligently and sincerely to win the confidence of the people.
Though the chief minister expressed happiness over the bright performance of his party in some districts, he was critical of the party’s sloppy performance in some other districts and reprimanded the MLAs of these districts.
Maintaining that there must be some pertinent reasons for the party’s poor show in these districts, he asked the MLAs to constantly stay in touch with the people at the grassroots level. He also asked them to ensure that the benefits of the several welfare programmes implemented by the state government should reach the deserving beneficiaries.
He, however, told the MLAs not to feel let down by the defeat of his party in their districts. “There is no doubt that we have grabbed maximum number of seats and remained at the top of the winning list which is a pointer that the people do not want any change in the government. People expect more work from you. We are here to work for the people,” he pointed out.
Asked about the performance of the party by the media persons after the meeting, Patnaik said he would reply to their question after the official announcement of the results on February 25. "It would be inappropriate to speak anything on this at the moment when the results are not declared officially," he maintained.