Poll violence: Fear of defeat haunting BJD, says BJP

Bhubaneswar: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday targeted the ruling-BJD over rising incidents of poll violence in the State and accused that the fear of defeat in the 2019 Elections is making the regional party violent.

Addressing a press meet, Lekhashree Samantsinghar, the general secretary of the BJP, said that fear of defeat in the ongoing polls has been hunting the BJD, following which the regional party has adopted violence to succeed in the polls.

“Around 20 persons were killed during last panchayat polls and the ruling-Biju Janata Dal (BJD) is on a similar path in the current general elections,” said Lekhashree.

The saffron party leader further said that a BJP leader was killed in minister Bikram Arukh's village and there has been deliberate attempts to attack saffron party workers.

Lekhashree also said that the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) and police have become the agents of the ruling party citing the example of how police had pulled out guns to threaten the BMC contractual workers staging protest in Jaydev Vihar square in Bhubaneswar today.

Responding to BJP's allegations, BJD spokesperson Sulata Deo, said, "BJP wants violence and create Bihar and Madhya Pradesh-like cultures in Odisha."

The people of the state are keeping an eye on BJP's activities and will give a befitting reply, she added.

Earlier yesterday, BJD spokesperson Prasanna Acharya had said that those who had hurled shoes at CM Naveen Patnaik at an election rally and killed a BJD worker during last bypoll are now crying foul.

It may be noted that several incidents of murder and brutal attacks have claimed as many as five lives and injured many others in different parts of the State during the first and second phase polls in the State.