Bhubaneswar: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Odisha seemed to have breathed in a newfound enthusiasm into the State BJP unit.
With Modi coming down heavily on the BJD government during his speech at the Centre’s 4th anniversary celebrations in Cuttack, has re-energised leaders and activists of the saffron party who are in an upbeat mood to take on the Mission 120 challenge.
PM Modi on Saturday criticised the Odisha government on several issues taking from poor health conditions to Mahanadi row, he made an all-out effort to attack the state government from all fronts.
Talks are doing rounds that BJP’s selection of Cuttack for celebration of fourth year of its government at Centre came following media reports that the saffron party has made inroads into the BJD’s bastions ever since the Panchayat polls last year.
The PM's visit will spur the much required momentum for the party workers to win confidence of people ahead of the 2019 elections, believes the Chief of the state unit .
“Modiji’s visit has definitely worked and it will have a big impact on whole of the State and in coming days our Mission 120 will be a success,” BJP Odisha unit chief Basant Panda said.
On the other hand, countering BJP's claims, the ruling B JD has said that Modi's visit will have no impact on Odisha's politics and especially their poll prospects.
Senior leader Prasanna Acharya said that “Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s personality and his ability in successfully manoeuvring the government over the last two decades has already won the public support,”
People of Odisha are already very much impressed by the Naveen Patnaik led government and so nobody's mantra is going to work here,” Acharya said.
Meanwhile, the Congress alleged that the BJD and BJP are hand in gloves.
“If Odia people are conscious about the polls, the PM’s visit will have no effect. BJD is afraid of CBI enquiry while BJP is apprehensive about losing out important support while forming government at the Centre if it loses against BJD. Both BJD and BJP require each other to fulfill their personal political goals and therefore they seemed to have entered into an understanding,” OPCC chief Niranjan Patnaik said.