Party's State in-charge Arun Singh today informed that Shah, who is scheduled to visit Odisha tomorrow will also come to the State on February 3 to attend BJP Janjati Morcha’s national convention.
"People want a change. The PM has already held three meetings in the state and Amit Shah will be here in the State tomorrow. The party's national president will address the tribal convention in Puri on February 3. People have been waiting to dethrone Naveen Patnaik-led government as the State is in ruins. Farmers are not getting irrigation facilities and right price of their produce. Therefore, they are committing suicide. Healthcare is in a shambles in the State," said Arun Singh.
According to sources, the BJP chief will attend a rally at Salepur in Cuttack tomorrow where more than 50,000 party activists from Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara and Jajpur districts are expected to attend. On February 3, Shah will visit Puri to attend the two-day national convention of BJP Janajati Morcha where he will address 5,000 representatives of the tribal communities along with tribal leaders, MLAs and MPs from across the country.
"Shah's visit to the State was planned earlier. Due to health problems he was unable to visit the State. As elections are getting closer, the BJP leaders are undertaking frequent visits and BJD has nothing to fear about it. He (Shah) must be coming to Odisha to enthuse his party workers," said Minister SN Patro.
Meanwhile, workers of the saffron party are upbeat to welcome Shah and preparations for the event at Salepur tomorrow are on in full swing.
Leader Arun Singh said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, several Union Ministers and Chief Ministers of some BJP-ruled States will also visit Odisha in coming days.
As per reports, Khurda collector Nirmal Chandra Mishra flagged off the awareness campaign in which voter awareness vehicles will reach out to the people residing in the interior parts.
In the first phase two mobile vans are engaged to conduct mock polling and a total of 16 vans will be pressed into service in the entire Khurda district, informed sources.
"We have prepared the route chart so that not a single village is left uncovered by the campaign" said Khurda Collector Nirmal Chandra Mishra.
It is pertinent to mention here that, even though the dates for the polls are yet to be announced by the Election Commission of India (ECI), the State Election Commission has started all necessary preparations right from procurement of EVMs, VVPATs, revision of voters list to training of officers.
As per reports, Additional Block Education Officer (BEO), Bisra, Sarat Kumar Pati and Vedavyasa UP School Headmaster Bibekananda Das were suspended for allegedly showing laxity in work during Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) and voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) awareness programme in the district.
Meena informed that allegations of lapses by Pati and Das during the EVM and VVPAT awareness programme surfaced following which they were suspended.
"I came to know that they put the EVM machines on road for demonstration. So, I suspended the two officials of education department," said Meena.
As the VVPAT machines will be used in Odisha for the first time during the upcoming 2019 elections, the Election Commission is reportedly conducting mock polls along with EVM and VVPAT awareness programmes in villages across the State.
Earlier, VVPAT machines were used during the Bijepur bypoll in the State in February 2018.
In the meeting, the Congress leaders discussed measures to be taken to strengthen the party organisation at the grassroots level by reaching out to people as much as possible.
"We discussed how to defeat both the BJD and the BJP and how to expose their anti-people policies and corruptions. We also discussed plans to highlight the failures of the BJD government in Odisha and the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre," said Mishra after the meeting.
Both the BJD and BJP are having hands in gloves and have secret political nexus, Mishra alleged.
A month after seeking information on expenses during the upcoming elections from the district electoral officers, the Odisha Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) has issued a directive for setting up storehouses for safekeeping of EVMs and VVPAT machines for which Rs 124.32 crore has been allocated.
Moreover, following approval from the Chief Election Commission (CEC) to procure ballot machines, the CEO has also expedited measures to bring in as many as 96,000 EVMs from other states like UP, West Bengal, Assam, MP, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh.
"As per CEC directions, we are conducting booth rationalisation programme from May 15 under which each of the 30 districts will be assessed for election readiness and processes like door-to-door verification of voters and inclusion of new voters will be conducted in a routine way. We had asked the administration of all districts to submit their proposals in this regard and after the programme is completed by July 27, we will seek CEC's approval," said Assistant CEO, Kashinath Sahu.
In the meantime, official sources said that as many as 12,200 VVPAT machines have already reached Odisha and after the required number of ballot machines reach the state, government officials will be imparted training.
Meanwhile, with preparations by the poll panel in full swing, political parties are also bracing up. Sources said more focus is being laid on ticket distribution.
"We are going to announce more than 50 candidates as early as August," said Congress leader, Tara Prasad Bahinipati.
"The BJP has begun candidate selection process with leaders in charge of all the 147 assembly constituencies being given responsibility to select candidates," said BJP leader, Pradeep Purohit.
Toeing on similar lines, the BJD also said that it has already kick-started the candidate selection process for the upcoming elections.
In a letter to all departments asking them to submit their proposals, the Finance Department made it clear that the supplementary budget 2018-19 would be purely an adjustment budget. "The administrative departments would be allowed to augment the provision in one unit only by locating equivalent savings in some other unit of expenditure," the letter read.
Stating that the government is in financial pressure at the moment due to increased expenditure on salary and pension after the revised scale as per recommendations of 7th pay Commission from October 2017, it directed the departments to spend the 'allocated but unused' funds first instead of going for new proposals.
The departments that have spent less than 20 percent of the budget provision by the end of June, 2018 shall not be considered for substantive supplementary provision, the department said.
It may be note that the departments are required to spend at least 60 percent of the budget provision by 31 December 2018.
“In administrative terms, the directive can be called as a cautionary measure which will encourage efficient expenditure,” said Finance Minister Sashi Bhusan Behera.
While, political analysts opine that the move by the state government could be a game changer before the upcoming elections, questions are being raised if it could be an exercise to raise funds for incorporating new schemes before the polls.
For instance, even as the Biju Swasthya Yojana was not mentioned in the main budget this year, it was announced by the government. The recent move could be towards raising funds for allocation on such schemes.
Former finance minister Panchanan Kanungo said “The present financial condition of the state is not very good. The supplementary budget could bail the state government out of this crisis.”
“From the guidelines mentioned in the proposals it is clear that the state government is worried of its financial condition and hence management of funds is very crucial. It seems that the supplementary budget would be a limited one since it would mostly deal with adjusting funds between different units,” opined senior journalist Dillip Satpathy.
Odisha Congress had first announced that the formation of the committees would be completed by June 15 and then by June 30. However, the committees are yet to be constituted.
Speaking on the matter, Congress MLA from Koraput, Krushna Chandra Sagaria said that the party is currently busy resolving several issues at the district level.
“All the secretaries and other leaders are working on it (committee formation) and they will be formed soon,” said Sagaria.
Manas Choudhury, president of Bhubaneswar District Congress Committee said: “We are in touch and having discussions with all party members even those who have left the party due to some differences. We want to form the committees by reviewing things at the grassroots level.”
On the other hand, the AICC on Tuesday sought details of the steps the State units have taken for the ensuing general elections in 2019, to be presented in a meeting chaired by the party president Rahul Gandhi in the third week of this month. The meeting, which is likely to be held at the AICC headquarters in New Delhi, will be attended by the general secretaries, in-charges, secretaries and PCC presidents and working committee presidents of all state units among others.
“Rahul Gandhi is the national president of Congress; won’t he prepare his party for the elections? It’s just a preparatory meeting. He has sought different information from us which we will present in the meeting,” said party’s Odisha unit chief Niranjan Patnaik.
As per reports, the meeting will have discussions on the party’s strengths and weaknesses in every parliamentary constituency and chalk out strategies for the polls to take on the BJP and the ruling-BJD government in the State.
According to sources, party chief, Amit Shah who is scheduled to visit Odisha on July 1 will be specially focussing on 21 assembly constituencies under three designated Lok Sabha parliamentary constituency areas and meet the respective office bearers of the party from these places. Sources said Shah has new matras up his sleeve and will also review the progress reports on the previous assignments at the grassroots level.
According to sources, Shah is likely to visit Odisha every two to three months and meet panchayat representatives across the state in a phased manner.
Terming the move necessary, the Odisha unit of BJP said that the State Government has been hijacking Centre's schemes.
"Shah's programme is aimed at taking the Central programmes to the doorsteps of public. The very people at the grassroots who keep working for our party will apprise Shah how benefits of numerous schemes implemented by the Union Government are being hijacked. Party chief will infuse new enthusiasm among party workers" said Odisha BJP Vice President, Sameer Mohanty.
On the other hand, the ruling-BJD responded with party spokesperson Amar Satpathy saying "Those who are levelling such allegations neither have any idea about implementation of projects in Odisha nor they want development. We are sure that they will not be successful in their mission."
BJP sources said even though Shah does not have any general meetings planned this time, he will hold discussions with party leaders in different phases at the state headquarters.
Last time during his visit to Kalahandi, Shah reviewed various works done by the party workers. While he praised party workers for successes, he also showed displeasure over some neglected areas.
While BJD launched ‘The Tall Man Biju Patnaik’ book on January 27 at a function which was attended by frontline national leaders from different parties, BJP countered the move with Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan launching ‘Dhamanire Shaurya,’ a book on freedom fighters on April 1.
“The book is a tribute to all legendary personalities who had fought for their motherland Odisha. ‘Dhamanire Shaurya’ is the history of the State and Odia race. On the other hand, ‘The Tall Man’ is only about a person. Both the books are totally different,” said senior BJP leader, Biswabhusan Harichandan.
Commenting on the matter, senior BJD leader Damodar Rout said, “BJP has launched a competition to get political mileage. They want to show that they love the heroic people of the State the most.”
One can easily smell political jostling from such verbal exchange.
This is not the only case; BJD formed the 'Biju Yuba Bahini’ (Youth Brigade) as part of its ambitious plan to connect with the youths in all panchayats and blocks of Odisha. Soon after, the BJD decision was countered by BJP which came up with its own youth mobilisation program ‘Nua Odisha Nirman Abhiyan’.
When BJD held special programmes in every district the on occasion of the Utkal Divas, BJP organised Utkal Divas Samaroha at the party's block offices.
However, experts are not able to digest such politics over books and the race between the two parties to gain political advantage out of the same.
“Personalities of historical significance should be glorified and their stories must be told to the masses. But that does not mean political parties should take political mileage by publishing books,” said senior journalist, Prasanna Mohanty.
Echoing similar views, educationist, Pritish Acharya said, “There might be an effort to get political benefit out of the book releases. I do not believe it will have any influence on people in the long run.”
The 1+3 formula was implemented during KP Singh Deo’s tenure wherein besides Deo at the helm, the party had appointed three other working presidents to be in charge of different parts of the State.
Though the final decision is yet to be made, Niranjan Patnaik is believed to be a front runner for the top post of OPCC, while the names which are doing the rounds for working presidents are Naba Kishore Das (Western Odisha), Pradeep Majhi (Southern Odisha) and Chiranjeeb Biswal (Coastal Odisha).
Moreover, senior leader Bhakta Das is likely to be appointed head of the party’s campaign committee.
However, on today’s meeting Patnaik said, “We were asked to wipe out personal egos and differences to strengthen the party and script a new history in the politics of Odisha. The high command has strictly said the party will not tolerate any sort of indiscipline.”
“Rahul Gandhi has strictly instructed us to work together and put the party’s interest first. All have promised and pledged their commitment to work for the party,” said former MP Pradeep Majhi.
The top brass of AICC wants to make its Odisha unit fighting-fit for the 2019 polls and thwart all the tall claims of BJD and BJP to win 120 and 123 seats respectively.
While elections for the Assemblies of Haryana and Maharashtra are due in October this year that of Jharkhand are scheduled for December.
There is speculation that the advancing of the Assembly elections could be considered as the BJP may not like anti-incumbency to hit the states if Assembly polls are held separately. The party believes that if held along with the Lok Sabha elections, the performance of the Central government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi may overwhelm all negative factors.
It suits the BJP to ride on the Modi's image as also on some of the "populist" measures expected in the Budget to beat the anti-incumbency.
Polls to the Assemblies of Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha and Sikkim are scheduled to be held alongside the Lok Sabha polls. Besides, polls to elect an Assembly in Jammu and Kashmir, which is under President's Rule at present, may also be held along with Lok Sabha polls.
In Haryana, buoyed by his party's success in the local body elections in which it won all five mayoral posts, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has already expressed his willingness for simultaneous polls.
In Maharashtra, though Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is not keen on advancing Assembly polls, he would ultimately have to go by the party's decision if it goes for simultaneous polls.
In Jharkhand, too, the BJP may decide to advance the polls as an alliance between the Congress, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (JVM) is taking shape, and it would like to counter it with Modi's high decibel Lok Sabha campaign.
"We are going to keep on using EVMs. We are going to keep on using VVPATs (Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail). We are open to any kind of criticism and feedback from any stakeholder, including the political parties. They are the biggest stakeholders.
"But at the same time, we are not going to be intimidated or bullied or pressurised or coerced into now giving up these and start the era of ballot boxes," Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora said while inaugurating an international conference here on "Making Our Elections Inclusive and Accessible".
"I would like to again make it very clear that we are not going back to the era of ballot papers. We are not going back to that era where we have ballot papers being lifted, muscle men being employed, besides the delay in counting and also too much harassment of polling staff on the ground," he said.
The event that was attended by heads and dignitaries from six election management bodies of Bangladesh, Bhutan, Kazakhstan, the Maldives, Russia and Sri Lanka and three international organisations -- Malaysian Commonwealth Study Centre, UK and International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance and International Centre for Parliamentary Studies.
Questioning political parties on why they embrace the EVMs if the result is favourable to them and crying foul if it is against, he asked why they were turning the issue of EVMs into a "motivated slugfest".
"My simple question is that if the result is 'X', (they say) EVMs are right; and if the result turns out to be 'Y', EVMs are faulty. Why have we made a machine, that too manufactured under highly secured conditions by the two PSUs who are doing a lot of work for defence establishments of our country? Why have we made it like football and are doing a motivated slugfest over it," he told political parties which have been raising doubts over the EVMs.
The Chief Election Commissioner's remarks come amid demands from several opposition parties to scrap the EVMs and a return to ballot papers. The demand was also raised at a mega rally organised by Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata in which 23 political parties, including the Congress, Samajwadi Party (SP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and DMK took part.
The parties also decided to form a four-member committee comprising Akhilesh Yadav (SP), Satish Chandra Mishra (BSP), Abhishek Singhvi (Congress) and Arivind Kejriwal (AAP) to take up the issue of ballot papers with the Election Commission.
The controversy over EVMs took a new turn earlier this week when a US-based self-claimed cyber expert Syed Shuja claimed that the 2014 elections were rigged and the EVMs can be hacked, a charge rejected by the EC which asked the Delhi Police to file an FIR against Shuja.
His remarks came ahead of the commencement of the winter session of Parliament.
"The winter session of Parliament is important. Key legislative bills are pending, which are in the interest of the people of the India. I hope the proceedings will be smooth, and there will be frank as well as extensive debates among members," Modi said.
"I hope the productivity of the winter session is high. Let us strive to work hard and complete the legislative agenda pending. May national interest always prevail over party considerations," he added.
The winter session of Parliament began on Tuesday. The almost month-long session is slated to have 20 sittings and continue till the January 8.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said 45 Bills and one Financial item will be taken up during the session.
Three Bills to replace Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Ordinance, Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Ordinance and Companies (Amendment) Ordinance were slated to be passed.
Some important pending legislation like Consumer Protection Bill, Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Amendment Bill and Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation) Bill were also expected to be considered during the session.
Now anyone who wants to run an ad in India related to politics will need to first confirm their identity and location, and give more details about who placed the ad, the social networking giant said in a statement late Thursday.
"We're making big changes to the way we manage these ads on Facebook and Instagram. We've rolled out these changes in the US, Brazil and the UK, and next, we're taking our first steps towards bringing transparency to ads related to politics in India," said Sarah Clark Schiff, Product Manager at Facebook.
"This is key as we work hard to prevent abuse on Facebook ahead of India's general elections next year."
Facebook said the advertisers in India will have to comply to new rules starting from Friday.
"The identity and location confirmation will take a few weeks so advertisers can start that process by using their mobile phones or computer to submit proof of identity and location. This will help avoid delays when they run political ads next year," informed Schiff.
Advertisers in India can download the latest Facebook app and visit Settings to get started.
Early 2019, Facebook would also start to show a disclaimer on all political ads that provides more information about who's placing the ad, and an online searchable Ad Library for anyone to access.
"This is a library of all ads related to politics from a particular advertiser as well as information like the budget associated with an individual ad, a range of impressions, as well as the demographics of who saw the ad," said Facebook.
At that time, the company would also begin to enforce the policy that requires all ads related to politics be run by an advertiser who's completed the authorisations process and be labelled with the disclaimer.
"We will not require eligible news publishers to get authorised, and we won't include their ads in the Ad Library," Facebook added.
BJP is committed to the development of Odisha but the State government's failure in utilisation of the fund has added to the problems of people, alleged Modi, adding, "Money is there, people need it and it is their right, but the government is sleeping."
Modi also launched a scathing attack on the Congress accusing the oldest party of callousness and apathy towards protecting, preserving and promoting the rich cultural heritage and resources of India (when the party was in power).
"There was a time when idols were stolen from temples. We are now trying to bring back all those idols of historical significance. Several idols have already been brought back to India in the last four years. However, the previous governments (Congress-led UPA) never took any step for the same," said Modi.
Responding to Modi's allegation, Odisha SC & ST Development Minister Ramesh Majhi said the Central fund to the State has been slashed since 2013-14, scholarship of SC/ST students have been stopped for the last two years; the State government is now using its own fund. "There is no truth in Modi's allegation," the minister said on non-utilisation of DMF funds allegation.
Meanwhile, Odisha Congress said that the PM disappointed again by not speaking on the issues concerning the people of Odisha. The party also alleged that the soft stance of Modi towards Odisha government proved that the BJP and the BJD share secret ties.
Odisha Congress chief Niranjan Patnaik took to Twitter and wrote: "Thank you Prof. Modi for your history lessons, but we Odias are very well aware of our history & culture. We wanted you to speak on, agri distress, unemployment, Rafale scam, ignoring Western Odisha, asking your CBI to protect CM in chit fund scam... Alas! Disappointed again."
Thank you Prof. Modi for your history lessons, but we Odias are very well aware of our history & culture. We wanted you to speak on:
1.Agri distress
2.Unemployment
3.Rafale scam
4.Ignoring Western Odisha
5.Asking your CBI to protect CM in chit fund scamAlas! Disappointed again https://t.co/vYom8zC6ou
— Niranjan Patnaik (@NPatnaikOdisha) January 15, 2019
On the other hand, Bolangir MLA Narasingha Mishra said that PM Modi didn't announce any special package for the district. "Modi's speech hints at the fear that has engulfed the BJP following its defeat in the three states and that's why, today, nobody could understand what he said. We had put forth several demands for Bolangir but no special package was announced for us," said Mishra.
Meanwhile, political experts believe that the recent defeat of the BJP in assembly elections has forced the party to shun negative politics. "With the general elections barely three months away, it seems, the BJP is now trying to involve more in highlighting its achievements instead of 'only' attacking opposition parties. Negative politics might hamper a party's prospects and the BJP seems to have realised that," said senior journalist," Prasanna Mohanty.
Earlier today, PM Modi inaugurated and dedicated a slew of developmental projects worth over Rs 1545 crore to the people of Odisha. Modi’s trip to Bolangir was his third visit to Odisha in less than 30 days.
Continuing its focus on eastern states like Odisha and West Benagal, the star campaigners of BJP, Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself and party's national president Amit Shah, are all set to visit Odisha this month. Modi, who had already visited the State on January 5, will visit again on January 15 while Shah is scheduled to meet party workers in Odisha on January 18.
As per the official itinerary, Modi will reach Jharsuguda airport at 9:30 AM on January 15 and then go to Bolangir in a chopper. He will inaugurate and lay foundation stones of several projects. Later, he will address a public meeting at Patharachepa at around 11:45 AM, which is expected to last for 45 minutes.
On January 18, Shah will visit Odisha and attend a state-level workers' meeting at Kulia RMC ground in Cuttack. Thousands of party workers from Cuttack, Kendrapara, Jajpur and Jagatsinghpur districts are expected to join the meeting.
Moreover, if reports are to be believed, many other star campaingners of the BJP will also visit the State in future as part of the party's strategy to hold more people-connect programmes to highlight the achievements of the Modi government.
While major political parties in the State like the BJD believe that Modi-Shah visits will have no impact, the Congress- after proving that Modi and Shah are no unbeatable geniuses - seems confident of turing the tide in its favor in Odisha.
He alleged that the Odisha government has no intention to help farmers. KALIA scheme is an attempt of the Naveen government to win votes. "They (ruling-BJD) had promised bonus for farmers and irrigation of 10 lakh hectare of land but nothing happened. Besides, the government's mismanagement made farmers vulnerable to pest menace and several hectares of crops destroyed by Brown Plant Hoppers (chakada). The people, who have always cheated farmers, have now taken the help of KALIA (Lord Jagannath). The government lacks proper plan for the scheme, rather it's just a new plan to woo voters," the Union Minister said.
He also said Centre's Ujjwala Yojana has so far reached 35 lakh women in Odisha and there is a target to extend the benefit to 10 lakh more beneficiaries in next three months in the State.
The Petroleum minister further alleged that the Odisha government is jealous of Central schemes and said: "The State government seems to have adopted a policy that neither will they do good for people nor will they let others do."
Responding to Pradhan's allegations, State Finance Minister Sashi Bhusan Behera said KALIA scheme will help actual farmers, including marginal and sharecroppers; the scheme will also help wipe out the regular demands of loan waiver as farmers can get regular assistance.
[caption id="attachment_258128" align="aligncenter" width="760"] Odisha Finance Minister Sashi Bhusan Behera (File Pic)[/caption]
"Opposition parties are indulged in spreading false rumours related to the KALIA scheme out of fear," said Behera.
On the other hand, OPCC chief Niranjan Patnaik alleged that Odisha CM is trying to fool farmers through the KALIA scheme as the general elections are barely four months away.
[caption id="attachment_343045" align="alignnone" width="750"] Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) chief Niranjan Patnaik[/caption]
"In what ways can KALIA scheme be comparable with the bonus scheme that we have promised? Naveen babu has himself told that loan waiver will lead to a massive crunch in the State economy. So, how many times has he waived off loan of farmers in his 19-years of rule?... The scheme is not a new one, the State government is just fooling farmers again as the general elections are round the corner," said Patnaik.
The OPCC chief said that Modi's visit to Odisha cleared the political scenario and proved that the BJP and the BJD have an anti-farmer stance and they share secret ties. However, the BJD once again reiterated its position of maintaining equidistance from both.
"Both Naveen and Modi have betrayed people of Odisha. Naveen babu had declared 75% irrigation in each block... Has it been done even in a single block out of the 314 in the State? He thinks people of Odisha are fools. They are trying to hoodwink people by taking the name of Lord Jagannath. The doubt about a secret unholy nexus between the BJP and the BJD has been proved true," said Patnaik.
In response to Patnaik's allegation of secret ties, BJD spokesperson Pratap Deb said that the party has always maintained equidistance from both the BJP and the Congress. "We have always maintained an equidistant political stance both from the BJP and the Congress. We are accountable to people of Odisha because they have reposed faith on us for four consecutive times and we don't need to answer the BJP or the Congress," he said.
[caption id="attachment_336390" align="aligncenter" width="750"] BJD Spokesperson Pratap Deb (File Pic)[/caption]
Further hitting out at Patnaik, Deb said there was a time when the OPCC chief himself was saying that the Congress' agenda is being set by CM Naveen. "Jaydev Jena is already on record to say Naveen babu is the president of Congress," said Deb.
Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, in response to Patnaik’s allegation on a nexus between the BJP and BJD, too left no opportunity to lash back at Niranjan Patnaik and stated, everyone knows who has a nexus with whom.
[caption id="attachment_330482" align="aligncenter" width="750"] Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan (File Pic)[/caption]
“The PM had clearly questioned the state government on eight points. Had there been a nexus the PM would not have touched the raw nerves of the BJD. Everyone knows who is the demon of corruption here. Several people are in jail for their involvement in chit fund scam... Whose MLAs and MPs are behind bars? Interrogation of whose ministers are on for their alleged involvement in the scam? Who set the platform to loot the minerals in Odisha? Who are the mines mafia? Who are taking PC (percentage commission) and who are suffering due to such a culture? All are aware about these questions and people of Odisha will answer these at appropriate time."
Lashing out at the Odisha government, he further said that people know who is feeding the 'demon' of mines, chit fund and PC; and its 'mahanayak' is none other than the ruling party in the State.
BJP national president Amit Shah, while speaking during the 'Republic Summit 2018' in Mumbai said that the party will win more seats in the north-east frontier states including, West Bengal and Odisha in 2019 elections.
However, the ruling-BJD in Odisha and Congress took a dig at Shah stating that the saffron party's defeat in the Hindi heartland has proved that the people have rejected the Narendra Modi government and it is the 'beginning of the end of the BJP.'
BJD spokesperson Sameer Das said people of Odisha have not got anything from the BJP in the last four and a half years. "Who will gain or lose in general elections would be clear once the poll results are out. BJD has nothing to fear," he added.
Senior Congress leader Sura Routray said that the BJP cannot 'stand up' again to fight further after its defeat in the recent assembly elections.
"The position of the BJP in Odisha is third; the BJD is at second position while the Congress is now the No. 1 party in the State due to AICC president Rahul Gandhi. Besides, the rift and infighting that we had have been ironed out; no one has any qualms now."
On the other hand, it is believed that the defeat in the Hindi-belt has forced BJP to focus more on north-east states and West Bengal & Odisha, which share a total of 88 Lok Sabha seats. Moreover, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is all set to visit Odisha on December 24 to rejuvenate the party organization and woo voters.
Odisha BJP spokesperson Golaka Mohapatra said that the party believes in development of Odisha. "During his visit, PM Modi will announce a lot of developmental projects for Odisha," he said.
Jena today brought allegations against Niranjan of running the party on hereditary and family basis besides charging him of involvement in corruption. He also said that the party will get defunct in the State if his words are not taken into account. However, the OPCC chief took a dig at Jena by calling him a storyteller.
"Srikant babu is a senior leader and he sometimes tells stories; there was a time when he even told several things about Biju babu. Whether there is transparency in Congress or not, time will tell and Jena will know it at the appropriate time," said the OPCC chief.
On Patnaik's storytelling jibe, Jena further said that one needs regular practice to tell stories. He also questioned the intention of Odisha government behind not making names of the 'mine looters' public.
Referring to the alleged involvement of Patnaik in mining corruption, Jena said: "If he (Patnaik) had done any business, he will answer... that is up to him."
On the other hand, Tara Prasad Bahinipati said that the remarks of Jena are affecting the party's prospects in the State and at a time when Congress is in shape under the new chief, Jena seems uncomfortable and making things difficult.
"Had he raised voice during his term, it would have benefited minority and backward classes in getting jobs. A person who didn't even believe Biju babu, can never believe us," said the party chief whip, adding that AICC chief Rahul Gandhi will look into Jena's matter.
Moreover, former party legislator Krushna Chandra Sagaria (on Jena's mines remark) said, "40 lakh youths in Odisha are unemployed and government is showing several dreams of industries and mines; and if someone will be called anti-party for questioning it, I have nothing to say."
It is being discussed that such infighting will definitely affect the party's prospects and weaken its organisation with the 2019 general elections a few months away.
Though the Petroleum minister has kept all guessing on the constituency from where he will contest, he is already being projected as BJP’s chief ministerial candidate in Odisha for the 2019 elections.
Speaking at the centenary celebration of Munduribeda Primary School in Angul a couple of days ago, the Union Minister had hinted at contesting from Pallahara, his old constituency and said that his 'own mistakes had made him taste defeat last time (2009), but he is confident of getting more support this time.'
"To my knowledge, Dharmendra Pradhan will not contest from anywhere in Odisha. He will neither contest for Lok Sabha nor in Assembly election. Biju Janata Dal will welcome him in case he contests and I will personally welcome him if he decides to contest from my constituency," said Sahoo.
Taking a dig at Pradhan, the Pallahara legislator further said that "The BJD and I have the capacity of winning hearts of people. As they (BJP) have the money muscle, there won't be any problems. They might have money but they lack organisational structure. Had money been so important, Tata-Birla would have also become Prime Minister."
In reaction to the BJD legislator's comments, State BJP general secretary Prithviraj Harichandan said that the BJD leaders are awash with ego because of the 19-year-long rule and rampant corruption.
"After unabated corruption, BJD leaders are now scared of losing power. They are now making comments out of paranoia," alleged Harichandan.
It is worth mentioning that Pradhan has been a Rajya Sabha member from Bihar since 2012. He had last contested from Pallahara constituency in 2009 while he didn’t contest the 2014 elections.
The BJP legislators also alleged that the Congress leaders are intentionally creating ruckus, favouring the BJD, in the Assembly due to which they (BJP) are not able to raise important issues in the House.
Moreover, ex-Congress MLA Krushna Chandra Sagaria has also accused Mishra of having a secret understanding with CM Naveen which is affecting the state negatively.
"Congress leaders are maintaining a secret alliance with the BJD and they don't want us to raise any issue in the House. People had watched trailer in 2014 when the then LoP joined hands with BJD; this time people will watch the movie," said BJP's Legislature Party Leader K V Singh Deo, hinting at a possibility of Mishra joining the BJD ahead of the 2019 polls.
Refuting the allegations, Mishra said, "When has the Congress not raised and criticised the government on issues concerning the people of Odisha? We have been saying that BJP-BJD are brothers and it has been proved on several occasions. BJP thinks, Congress is doing what they have been doing."
BJD spokesperson Puspendra Singh Deo, on BJP's allegations, said that the party is maintaining equidistance from both the BJP and the Congress. "We have raised the issue of Central negligence several times in the past. It seems the Opposition is not aware of it," he added.
On the other hand, BJD minister Surya Narayan Patro was today seen cozying up with Opposition Chief Whip Tara Bahinipati outside the House. He said that the fight between them in the House is all fake and Bahinipati will join the BJD at the right time.
Soon after landing at Mumbai, Modi will attend an event organised by a TV channel and later release the book 'Timeless Laxman' at Raj Bhavan.
The PM will then lay the foundation stone for the Thane-Bhiwandi-Kalyan metro 5 and Dahisar-Mira Bhayander metro-9 at Kalyan in adjoining Thane district.
The Kalyan event will also see the launch of Navi Mumbai town planning authority City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra's (Cidco) mass housing scheme worth Rs 18,000 crore, which offers around 89,771 affordable homes under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.
Modi will later proceed to Pune, where he will lay the foundation stone for the third metro line between Hinjewadi and Shivajinagar, being implemented by the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority on a public-private partnership basis.
The Rs 8,313-crore 23-km long third metro line in Pune between Hinjewadi and Shivajinagar will connect the busy information technology (IT) part with Shivajinagar, where the other two metro lines will also join.
Modi will fly to Delhi from Pune Tuesday night, an official said.
New Delhi: In the wake of BJP's defeat in three big states which many attributed to growing farm distress, the party-led Maharasthra government is considering a host of measures like ex-gratia grant and transport subsidy for onion growers to provide them relief against sliding prices.
The Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) has suffered a rural drubbing in Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh in recent state polls and the party ruling at the Centre is looking for smart solutions to address agrarian distress ahead of 2019 general elections.
Maharashtra is one of the major onion grower states in the country and both the Centre and the state government want to avert onion crisis as opposition parties have decided to raise the farm distress issue to corner the ruling dispensation in the ongoing winter session of Parliament.
According to sources, the Maharashtra government is in the process of finalising intervention measures such as ex-gratia grant and transport subsidy under a central scheme 'Operation Green'.
The 'Operation Green' is relatively a new scheme, implemented by the Union Food Processing Ministry, that has a corpus of Rs 500 crore and aims to aid farmers in times of erratic price fluctuation in tomatoes, onions and potatoes.
Sources said the state government is considering seeking transport subsidy under the central scheme for state onion growers to sell especially stored onions in consuming states.
It is also working on ex-gratia grant to compensate the affected growers.
Onion prices have come under pressure in Maharasthra because of huge arrival of both stored onions as well as fresh kharif crop at a time.
The wholesale price for stored onions is quoting lower owing to poor quality, while the fresh kharif crop is fetching at around Rs 10 per kg, as per the official data.
"In November, 50 per cent of the onion that arrived in wholesale mandis in the state comprised largely stored onions. The price quoted was between Rs 3.50 and Rs 4 per kg, which has created unrest among farmers," another source said.
There is higher quantity of stored onions in the state as farmers had increased area under the crop during the rabi season of the 2017-18 crop year in anticipation of better prices, the source added.
Adding to the crisis is that the kharif onion output in the ongoing 2018-19 crop year (July-June) is expected to be more or less at the last year's level of 19 lakh tonne in Maharasthra.
Historically, onions are the most nightmarish vegetable for politicians and have played a key role in shaping election results since 1980s. In the past, many governments have fallen due to onion crisis.
The BJP was winning elections after elections ever since the Narendra Modi-led BJP stormed to power at the Centre in May 2014. The loss of power to the main opposition Congress in three major Hindi heartland states -- Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh -- was a first major defeat of the saffron party ever since Modi took over as the Prime Minister.
The Kendrapara unit of BJP on Friday held a meeting under the chairmanship of State BJP president Basant Panda at the party office in the district and discussed preparations of the party in order to make Modi's visit to Odisha successful.
After the meeting, Panda said that the resignation of the senior leader from Kendrapara, Bijoy Mohapatra, will not have any impact on the BJP.
"The PM is scheduled to visit the State on December 24 and the State unit of the party is doing its best to include as many members as it can, right from the booth-level, in the programme. A meeting for the same was organised here at the district party headquarters," said Panda.
PM Modi is likely to unveil projects worth Rs 14,523 crore during his visit to the State. An announcement in this regard was done by Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan at a press conference in New Delhi on Friday.
Experts believe that Modi's visit to Odisha carries a lot of importance following the BJP's defeat in the recently-concluded assembly elections in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
Besides, the saffron party is not eyeing the north-east, including Odisha and West Bengal, to compensate the loss.
CEO Surendra Kumar will meet leaders and representatives of various political parties and discuss issues like use of EVMs, VVPATs and setting up of new booths.
Earlier on Monday, the Chief Election Commission of India had also convened meeting of all recognised national and regional parties to discuss the poll preparations.
As many as seven national political parties and 51 regional parties had attended the crucial meeting at New Delhi.
While the Odisha Congress is all set to announce the names of at least 50 candidates by August 31, the ruling BJD and the BJP are also getting battle ready.
Out of the three major parties, candidate selection is considered to pose a major headache for the ruling-BJD which could face anti-incumbency. As the leadership is zeroing in on candidates taking into account the internal survey and party's equations, chances are quite high that party MLAs who are involved in corruption, have not actively executed party's agenda and have lost popularity could be shown the door, informed sources.
Amid such a backdrop, talks are doing rounds that the party leadership is worried as the list of such MLAs is quite long.
Sources said that after finalisation of the candidates, the party leadership could direct them to begin groundwork in their designated constituencies as early as September first or second week. However, the party denied commenting on the matter.
“Since we are the ruling party, we cannot disclose the details at this moment. Only party president Naveen Patnaik will make the final announcement,” BJD Spokesperson, Debasish Samantaray said.
On the other hand, BJP which has been flexing its muscles for the elections since last year has also shortlisted as many as 60 candidates for the upcoming Assembly elections. But the main concerns for the saffron party are internal feud and absence of adequate number of winnable candidates.
"Candidate selection is being carried out on the basis of public perception, survey data and other factors and we will finalise the tickets soon," said Odisha BJP general secretary Prithviraj Harichandan.
Similarly, Congress which has recently hogged the limelight for its resurgence under the new leadership of Niranjan Patnaik has been the most active party. Ticket selection process for the party is already in full swing and could be over by the end of August. Speculations are doing rounds that the party is declaring candidates early to prevent its leaders from jumping the fence.
“We are aiming to announce the first list of 50 Assembly candidates soon after party's election committee finalises them,” said Odisha Congress chief, Niranjan Patnaik.
The Pradesh Election Committee (PEC), comprising OPCC chief Niranjan Patnaik, Leader of Opposition Narasingha Mishra, party’s state in-charge Jitendra Singh and others met candidates who had lost the last general elections in 2014 by a margin of less than 15,000 votes.
The closed-door interaction was held in three phases for east, north and south zones respectively. As per reports, applications of the candidates will be reviewed before being sent to the All India Congress Committee (AICC) screening committee for final approval.
After the meeting OPCC chief Niranjan Patnaik said candidates who had lost their 'security deposit' for performing poorly in the last elections will not be given tickets for the upcoming polls.
As per election commission guidelines, a defeated candidate loses his 'security deposit' if he/she fails to secure more than one sixth of the valid votes polled in the constituency.
Similarly, candidates convicted in criminal cases will be barred from the list while those framed or charged due to intolerance might be considered separately.
-Niranjan Patnaik, OPCC chief
However candidates belonging to same family having equally good public acceptance shall be considered for tickets, Patnaik clarified.
Notably, the state unit of the party had on Sunday informed that it will declare its first list of 50 candidates within a next few days.
Addressing the public rally, Pradhan stated that the Centre is committed towards all-round development of Odisha, but the State government is posing a big hindrance in such developmental activities.
While PM Modi was present in Bolangir to launch several projects on infrastructure development, connectivity and ease of doing business, CM Naveen Patnaik at the same time was inaugurating the state-level annual farmers’ convention, ‘Krushi Odisha 2019’, at Biju Patnaik Ground in Baramunda, Bhubaneswar.
Surprisingly, this is not the first instance when the State government is organising events on the same day the Prime Minister is scheduling his visits to the State to inaugurate developmental projects for the people of Odisha.
It may look as a co-incidence to many, but Pradhan alleged such motive as intentional while terming it as a cheap politics of Odisha government.
The last time Modi came to Odisha to inaugurate and lay foundation stones of several projects worth Rs 4500 crore in Baripada, the same day the BJD organised a Mission Shakti programme in Puri that somehow was seen as a strategy to counter the PM’s visit.
“This time also we had invited CM Naveen to be a part of the government programme in Bolangir, but he did not accept our invitation. We thought he has interest towards West Odisha and would come to discuss with PM Modi and then put forth his demands. But Naveen Patnaik chose to do politics by organising another event in Bhubaneswar on the same day and it is quite clear he has not prioritised the development of Western Odisha.”
Pradhan further slammed the government alleging poor irrigational facilities in Bolangir. “In the last 20 years, only 5 to 10 per cent irrigational activities have been done in Bolangir. The Lower Suktel Project started some 15 years back but still only 20 per cent has been finished. The displaced people are still awaiting rehabilitation and disbursal of compensation.”
While BJD leaders are yet to respond on Pradhan’s allegations, CM Naveen, while inaugurating the Krushi Odisha 2019 programme in Bhubaneswar, mentioned that Odisha government had aimed to carry out irrigation in over 10 lakh hectares, of which only 2 hectares are left that is likely to be covered by the end of April this year.
BJP chief Amit Shah’s back-to-back Odisha visits, followed by Nitin Gadkari and former Jharkhand CM Arjun Munda’s visit to Keonjhar today, the saffron party is leaving no stone unturned to make its Mission 120 plus seats successful. As part of its attempts, it has also announced to organise a 'Parivartan Samabesh' in all the 147 Assembly constituencies.
In view of the programme, several top level party leaders from the Centre are likely to visit the State. Besides Shah, several others like Home Minister Rajnath Singh, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Union ministers Giriraj Singh, Ram Kripal Yadav and Manoj Sinha are also scheduled to lead party’s campaign in Odisha over the next few weeks. Odisha BJP chief Basant Panda has informed that senior party leader Rajnath Singh will arrive in Odisha on February 17 and prior to that Giriraj Singh and Ram Kripal Yadav are also scheduled to visit the State.
While Congress' Rahul Gandhi has already visited the State twice in a span of few weeks, he is also scheduled for another visit later this month to Koraput. The Odisha PCC has also proposed the party leadership to bring Priyanka Gandhi as a star campaigner during Rahul Gandhi’s visit to Koraput.
“Although we have not decided on the exact date and place of the visit, we have requested the AICC for Priyanka Gandhi’s visit to Odisha,” said OPCC chief, Niranjan Patnaik.
Meanwhile, the BJD is also gearing up by promoting ‘brand Naveen.’ Many believe that on the pretext of government programmes, Chief Minister and party president Naveen Patnaik is holding marathon campaigns to win the confidence of voters.
“The Opposition parties might bring as many leaders as possible to campaign in Odisha, but they will lose their sheen in front of CM’s popularity,” said senior BJD leader and Finance Minister Sashi Bhusan Behera.
Bahinipati also claimed that it is party working president Pradeep Majhi who calls the shots in giving ticket to a particular candidate.
"Pradeep Majhi is the leader of our area and has been assigned the charge of such things. The party had assured that the candidature of sitting MLAs is final. It's unfortunate that tickets for Kotpad and Laxmipur seats have not been finalised yet."
Even Sumitra Jena, the President of Odisha Pradesh Mahila Congress seemed dissatisfied after ticket allotment. "We had recommended names of 52 aspirants. If they are not given tickets, we will definitely raise our voices. Only one woman was granted ticket in the first phase list. I want to contest elections from Bhadrak Assembly constituency. Only time will tell what will happen if party denies ticket to me."
Meanwhile after the Congress fielded Nipan Das from Bargarh Assembly constituency, former Bargarh MLA Sadhu Nepak resigned from the party today. Sadhu accused the Congress of nepotism and said, "The party is not a paternal property of anyone. I will soon take a decision on my future course of action," he said.
On the other hand, it was interesting to see how senior Congress leader Narasingha Mishra today flip-floped his statements on fighting elections this time. Mishra was declared party's candidate for the Bolangir Assembly constituency.
On October 5, 2017, Mishra had rebuffed retirement rumours stating that he will stay in politics till death but won't contest the 2019 elections.
He, however, said today it is the party's prerogative to decide the candidate and might get ousted if he says no to the decision of the party.
Meanwhile in Titlagarh, supporters of former MLA Surendra Singh staged a road blockade demanding ticket to the leader for the assembly constituency, though the party is yet to declare candidate for the seat.
Surendra Singh had lost to BJD's Tukuni Sahu in the 2014 elections. Since then, he had been working day and night along with party workers, said his supporters.
However, resentment brew among them after speculations were rife that Congress has decided to field Sarat Pattnaik and not Singh. Vehicular movement was affected and shops remained shut for a few hours during the blockade at Saintala on Bargarh-Borigumma road, until police came and pacified Singh's supporters to withdraw protests.
Justifying his action, Majhi said that as it is getting a bit late, people of his constituency want him to file the nomination. "My ticket has been confirmed. Over phone, it has been confirmed. Announcement will be made soon," said Majhi.
Working president of Odisha Congress, Pradeep Majhi said, "Kotpad MLA's candidature was secured from the very first day by AICC chief Rahul Gandhi. However, it couldn't be declared, but it will be announced soon. Those who will be given tickets for Assembly seats have already been informed much earlier to continue with their campaigning."
On the issue of dissidence in Odisha Congress, Majhi said, "It's obvious that some people won't like the ticket allotment, but if people don't get tickets, it doesn't mean they will involve in any anti-party activities."
However, Patnaik refuted the reports and said that she is angry because she was not allotted the ticket she had wished for. "Sumitra wanted ticket for a particular seat, but as it was not possible for the party and we offered her another seat and also asked if she prefers any other seat," said Patnaik.
Responding to Patnaik, Sumitra said, "I have applied (to the party) for Bhadrak seat but it's up to the party; it will not hurt me if ticket is denied and I will continue to work for the party. But yes, I want the party to give more tickets to women. I will definitely take the matter up with Rahul Gandhi."
The BJD is so much wary of the brewing resentment within the party that even after selection of candidates for the renaming nine Lok Sabha seats for the 2019 polls, the party is reportedly refraining from making any announcement.
Speculations are rife that the BJD will have to face a tougher challenge while announcing tickets for the third and the fourth phase elections in the State. It is discussed that the BJD is planning to wait till the announcement of candidates by the State unit of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to declare its tickets.
State BJP spokesperson Golak Mohapatra said, "The party which had once won 117 seats (in 2014 polls), is now fielding candidates like Chandrasekhar Sahu and Bikram Panda (Congress leaders who recently joined the BJD). They are dependent on other party leaders who joined them like Jogesh Singh and daughter of Hemananda Biswal."
Responding to the comment, BJD leader Soumya Ranjan Patnaik said, "The BJP is fielding our people who have not got tickets. They (BJP) are dependent on our leaders. If we secretly allot tickets to our candidates without making any announcement, I think the BJP couldn't even contest the elections,"
In the meantime, resentment continues to surface within the BJD. MLA Dhaneswar Majhi expressed his disappointment after Bhupinder Singh was given ticket for Narla Assembly seat. "The party neglected me. I don't know the reason of being neglected by the party like this," said Majhi. Moreover, another sitting MLA of BJD Basanti Mallick also resigned from the party today. Later in the day Mallick joined the BJP in presence of Odisha party chief Basant Panda and other senior leaders.
Commenting on the growing dissidence among party leaders, BJD vice president Prasanna Acharya said, "It's an old and natural process; such things happen across the country whenever a particular party allots tickets."
"People of Odisha are tired of mining mafia, chit fund scams,misgovernance & inability to solve issues relating to health & education. Odisha is set to reject BJD. Congress is nowhere in the picture," tweeted Modi.
Urging the people of Odisha to vote for BJP during Vijay Sankalp Samabesh in Jeypore, Modi said, “This is the right time to punish Congress and BJD who were given ample time in Odisha to develop the region. However, they have failed miserably. What punishment should be given to such political parties for breaking the trust of people? I believe that people of Odisha should vote for BJP’s double engine government, both in the State and Centre so as to bring all round development at much faster pace.”
You have to decide what should be done with (1)Cong that you bestowed responsibility of developing Odisha for decades (2)BJD that you gave so much time to develop State. Until we give them a shock, they won't mend ways.Bring 'double-engine' BJP govt to usher development: PM Modi pic.twitter.com/q4sWApX73Q
— OTV (@otvnews) March 29, 2019
Targeting BJD, Modi said, “Can a govt which 'is embroiled in chit fund scams, looted invaluable resources of tribals, unable to ensure safety and justice to women' develop Odisha? Give us a chance and see the transformation. This Chowkidar is always there for your safety & well-being.”
Modi further took a swipe at the BJD for failing to utilise the Rs 6500 crore fund accumulated under District Mineral Fund and also refusing to be part of Centre's Ayushman Yojana and PM-KISAN Yojana.
“PM-KISAN will benefit 12 crore farmers in India, but there's not a single beneficiary from Odisha as there is no support from the State goverenment. It's time to say good bye to this anti-people govt. Only BJP can bring development here,” Modi added.
#Odisha needs double engine BJP govt for development, reiterate senior BJP leaders- Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, party’s national vice president Baijayant Panda & Bijoy Mohapatra #ModiOdishaVisit #OdishaPollsWithOTV #Elections2019 pic.twitter.com/rpHryepYSa
— OTV (@otvnews) March 29, 2019
Responding to PM Modi's allegations, BJD's Barabati-Cuttack MLA, Debasish Samantaray said, "The Centre has praised Odisha's all around development in the past. CM Naveen Patnaik has introduced Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana which is better than Centre’s Ayushman Bharat scheme. The Centre has copied our KALIA scheme."
Centre has praised Odisha for all round development in the State; CM Naveen has introduced Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana which is better than Centre’s Ayushman Bharat scheme, says BJD’s Barabati-Cuttack MLA Debasish Samantaray while responding to PM Modi’s remarks #Elections2019 pic.twitter.com/1abfgjWYCm
— OTV (@otvnews) March 29, 2019
Odisha PCC vice-president Ananta Sethi on the other said, "People of the country very well know that BJP has mislead them by making fake promises."
As the parties have announced most of their candidates, campaigning has also gathered pace. While contestants are reaching out to people with door-to-door campaigns, political parties are leaving no stone unturned. Amid the poll fever, musicians and singers are busy preparing campaign songs and tracks for the political parties who want to woo voters in as many ways as possible. Not only Bollywood songs, but trending Sambalpuri tracks and Odia albums are being remixed to attract voters.
"It is a big challenge because you have to consider various aspects before composing a song to incorporate the ideology of a political party, their manifesto and success story," said music producers.
"Lending voice to these election songs is a unique experience. While we can easily sing normal albums, it is quite difficult in case of election campaign-based songs because you have to be careful and prominent in pronunciation," said noted Odia music album singer, Monali.
Music producer Dilip Jena said, “We have a big responsibility to reach out to the people with the messages of the contestants."
Along with the reputation that is associated with winning the mandate of people in country’s leading Smart City, these contestants have made the battle for the Bhubaneswar Lok Sabha constituency interesting.
With Bhubaneswar going to polls on April 23, poll fever in the Parliamentary segment and Assembly constituencies under its jurisdiction has already reached fever pitch with both Aparajita and Arup kick-starting their campaigns.
For Aparajita, who earlier served as Khurda Collector and also had a stint as BMC Commissioner, Bhubaneswar is a place where she would be most comfortable given her knowledge of public and their issues.
Aparajita said, “I am myself my biggest opponent. Everyone wants a (parivartan) change and I am getting lot of support from people wherever I go, which is a very positive sign.”
Experts are of the view that Arup might face an uphill task, but the former IPS officer is leaving no stone unturned to reach out to people.
Arup has expressed confidence that CM Naveen’s popularity and faith of people on BJD will help him sail through.
“As always, my main objective will be public service. While I served in police, I did the same thing and now I also look forward to take the huge responsibility of representing 23 lakh people of the constituency,” said Arup.
Meanwhile, not only capital city Bhubaneswar, the millennium city Cuttack may also get to witness a different poll battle this time where the BJP has fielded former Odisha DGP Prakash Mishra.
Even though the BJD and the Congress are yet to announce their candidates, Mishra hit the ground as soon as his name was nominated for the Cuttack Parliamentary constituency.
Reposing faith on sitting legislators, the party has fielded six-time MLA Pradeep Maharathy from Pipili and Samir Ranjan Das from Nimapara Assembly seat.
Similarly, Pramod Mallick, the current party MLA from Niali constituency, Kakatpur MLA Surendra Sethi have been renominated from their current Assembly constituencies. Party MLA Prashant Muduli will contest elections from Jagatsinghpur constituency.
Bhagirathi Sethi, who shockingly joined BJD on March 29 just days after being nominated BJP’s candidate from Anandapur Assembly constituency, will contest elections from the same constituency but this time with ruling-BJD ticket.
BJD has also nominated Santosh Khatua for Nilagiri Assembly constituency, former MLA Rajendra Kumar Das for Dhamnagar constituency and Raghunandan Das for Balikuda-Erasama Assembly constituency for the upcoming polls.
According to sources, volunteers of Jagatsinghpur BJD leader Amarendra Das allegedly stopped the supporters of local party candidate Prasant Muduli while the latter was conducting a roadshow near Mundala Chhak. Das’ supporters waived black flags and also protested the roadshow organised by Muduli.
The situation turned ugly when members of both the groups had a heated argument and later entered into a scuffle.
Asked about the incident, Muduli said, “There may be some disgruntlement in those candidates, who did not get ticket for the elections, but in my opinion, the Congress party was behind the incident. The Opposition party has intentionally tried to conspire against me but people have proved that they are with me.”
It may be noted that infighting in party's Jagatsinghpur unit has hit fever pitch after the party denied poll ticket to local aspirant Amarendra Das and instead nominated Balikuda-Ersama MLA Prasant Muduli for the seat.
Unable to get permission to take a chopper ride due to delay, Yogi who was scheduled to attend party’s Vijay Sankalp Samabesh at Berhampur and Phulbani in Odisha, was forced to address the public through telephone from the Biju Patnaik International Airport in Bhubaneswar. Yogi was not allowed to fly due to lack of facilities for flying during dark.
Addressing the public, Yogi praised the developmental works done by the BJP government during the last five years and also targeted the ruling-BJD in Odisha over various issues. The leader also urged the people to give ample votes to Berhampur and Kandhamal Lok Sabha and Assembly candidates of BJP.
“As Yogi ji could not arrive, he addressed the public gathering through mobile and vouched for a new government in the State and also called upon the people to vote for the Modi-led government at the Centre again,” said BJP leader, Kharavela Swain.
Rahul is likely to visit Odisha twice and attend address public meetings Jagatsinghpur, Anandpur or Balasore. The dates of the Rahul's visit are yet to be finalised.
Bhubaneswar District Congress Committee president Manas Choudhury said the AICC chief will visit which will bolster party's prospects in the coastal belts for the upcoming third and fourth phase on April 23 and 29 respectively.
This apart, the OPCC has also requested AICC to make arrangements for Priyanka Gandhi’s Odisha visit.
“Rahul Gandhi will visit State on two more occasions. Apart Rahul Gandhi, several other star campaigners including Raj Babbar, Shatrughan Sinha, Nagma are also scheduled to visit Odisha election campaigning for party candidates. South Indian actress-turned Congress leader Vijayashanti will also visit Cuttack to campaign for the party on April 15,” said Choudhury.
It may be noted that Rahul was earlier scheduled to attend public rally and participate in several programmes during his visit to Phulbani of Kandhamal district on April 9. However, the programme was cancelled in the last minute.
Be it the attack on BJP candidates in Bhubaneswar yesterday or the attack on RTI activist in Kandhamal, there has been a rise the number of political attacks in the run up to the second phase polls in the State.
RTI activist from Kandhamal Mohammad Jiauddin sustained head injuries after being attacked by miscreants recently. He alleged that some BJD workers targeted and attacked him bringing several irregularities done by ruling party LS candidate Achyuta Samanta to the fore.
“We were discussing on an issue outside when suddenly supporters of BJD LS candidate Achyuta Samanta came in two cars and attacked me.”
However, no comments could be obtained from Achyuta Samanta and the Biju Janata Dal.
In another incident, BJP’s Bhubaneswar-Central candidate Jagannath Pradhan and Lok Sabha contestant Aparajita Sarangi today moved the Chief Electoral Officer alleging that BJD activists pelted stones during a rally on Friday night.
What is more shocking that the BJP has also accused the ruling party workers of threatening supporters of the saffron party in Hinjili, the Assembly constituency of Odisha Chief Minister and BJD president Naveen Patnaik.
State BJP spokesperson and party’s Hinjili candidate, Pitambar Acharya sat on dharna at Sergada Police Station in the constituency yesterday alleging that the BJP workers led by block chairman Santosh Patnaik alias Pintu tore off BJP posters just before CM Naveen’s visit to the Assembly segment. He added that the ruling party workers are threatening BJP workers by brandishing guns in hands.
Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan targeted the BJD government and said that it has been misusing the government machinery including Odisha and Commissionerate Police for attacking on BJP workers.
He, however said that despite resorting to such tactics, the ruling party will not be able to stop the BJP juggernaut in Odisha.
“Let be assure that if they (BJD) beat us with stones or bullets, people will hit them by pressing ballot switches,” Pradhan said.
However, BJD spokesperson Sasmit Patra hit back at Pradhan and said that it is BJP who actually relies on bullets, but the BJD only believes on the power of ballot.
While addressing poll meetings in Balasore, Bhadrak and Jajpur which will go to polls in the fourth phase, Patnaik questioned why despite having double engine government in MP, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Punjab, the saffron party lost the Assembly polls in these States. He also alleged that after demonetisation, the poor in the country have become poorer while youths lost thier jobs.
“Since the BJP has not done anything for the welfare of farmers, it continues to lose elections. The party was boasting about its successful Gujarat model but it narrowly escaped defeate there,” said Patnaik.
The State Chief Minister also accused the Centre of conspiring to stop the KALIA scheme in Odisha.
Naveen also promised that his government will release two instalments (Rs 10,000) of KALIA scheme money on the first day of coming to power in the State.
Addressing a presser, Kumar informed that the particular control unit was not kept in the specified strong room and there were lapses on part of the official who received the EVMs. There are 12 strong rooms and the control unit could be in another strong room.
"The EVMs were received and kept in strong room after the third phase polls on April 23. But the particular control unit was not kept in the specified strong room," said Kumar.
The matter has been brought to the notice of Election Commission (EC) after getting information from Puri district Collector.
"Recommendation for fresh poll at the booth was already intimated to the EC on April 24, " the CEO informed.
Moreover, re-polls in 10 booths including--- two booths under Brahmagiri AC, four booths under Athagarh AC and one booth each under Badamba, Debagarh, Satyabadi and Talcher have also been recommended to the EC.
Hundreds of residents of Balama, Talabalama and Madakami villages in Kundabai panchayat under Udala Assembly constituency have been demanding the construction of a bridge on nearby Deo River but they have alleged that their pleas have fallen on deaf ears.
The protesting villagers boycotted the general polls which were being conducted in their panchayat yesterday.
Asked about the incident, Sita Mahali, a local resident said, "We are having a harrowing time dealing with our daily communication needs while crossing the river. Be it carrying a pregnant woman or patient across the river, or even helping out school children through the stream, it has become quite difficult for us due to absence of a bridge. The condition becomes worse during rains when we are cut off from the world."
No comments could be obtained from local administrative officials over the issue.
As per the High Court order, no police action can be initiated against Mishra until further orders, informed sources. The High Court granted interim protection while hearing the anticipatory bail petition filed by Om Prakash.
A complaint was lodged against Mishra for allegedly vandalising EVM and thrashing the presiding officer Sibaram Mohapatro at polling booth no 78 at Birakesharpur village under Satyabadi police limits of Puri district during the third phase polls on April 23.
Two persons-- Manoj Samantray and Akhaya Biswal were also arrested in this regard the following day while Mishra is on the run.
“In the last elections, BJP managed to win only one Lok Sabha seat but this time around, it will definitely grab at least 13 to 14 Lok Sabha seats, undoubtedly,” Rout said claiming that the development might dent ruling BJD’s prospect of forming government in Odisha.
“I believe BJP might form government in Odisha or might not and so too BJD, so there is every likelihood of a hung Assembly here,” said Rout.
Speaking on the alliance chatter, Rout said, “In case of a coalition no one has anything to complain and I believe that such a government will be more effective than the present unproductive one.”
The senior leader further said that once an alliance comes into play, it will be an end to the 'Officer Raj' (bureaucratic rule) in Odisha.
Ruling BJD is yet to respond to Damodar Rout's statements.
It may be noted that results of the four-phased polling for the General elections in the State conducted on April 11, 18, 23 and 29 will be declared on May 23.
Bhubaneswar: As parties await May 23 with bated breath indications are that it is going to be a tight race between BJP and its rivals. The BJP may not like such a scenario to emerge but it has to prepare itself for that. Newspaper reports suggest that Congress is already reaching out to non-BJP parties including regional outfits, indicating that it is not averse to the idea of backing one of them for the office of the Prime Minister if they can together keep the BJP out of contention for that post.
For the Congress it is a significant climb down but a mature position to take for the country’s oldest party must realize that it is no more the top party and one which can command a majority on its own. It was brought down to the earth in Uttar Pradesh, India’s most politically significant state, by Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) who formed an alliance without taking Congress into confidence.
Announcing their pact in UP the SP-BSP combine had left only two seats—Amethi and Rae Barelli—for the Congress as a goodwill gesture. Both the seats have long been considered Gandhi family pocket-borough but now the party seems shaky even there. Indications of Congress feeling insecure about Amethi came when Rahul Gandhi decided to contest also from Kerala’s Wayanad.
Now UP has been the bastion of Congress and the Nehru-Gandhis for decades. Retaining its hold on this Hindi heartland state is a matter of prestige for the family. It is symbolic. Hence the decline of Congress in UP is indicative of its decline India.
But the Gandhi dynasty would not let go of it easily. Having been used to power for generations it knows only how to rule and resents any attempt at its powers being curbed. Its readiness to compromise and accommodate the demands and aspirations of other non-BJP parties, especially the regional parties, is symptomatic of its desperation to control the levers of power either directly or indirectly by keeping BJP, its main rival, out of contention for the post of Prime Minister.
The BJP’s dislike of the Congress is equally strong. For the saffron party Congress remains the source of all evil in the country. This what explains Prime Minister, Narendra Modi’s slogan of “ Congress mukta Bharat’ ( An India free of Congress).
The good thing about Mr. Modi is he is clear about his goals and his likes and dislikes. Once he takes a stand he does not budge from it. So in his case it is an all out war against the Congress and there is no room for any compromises here.
He is also aware that Congress is making its moves to stymie his ambitions of returning back to power. Hence, he has begun making his own moves to thwart Congress’ designs. He has begun courting regional satraps like Odisha chief minister and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) supremo, Naveen Patnaik in the right earnest. The real game will begin after May 23.
(DISCLAIMER: This is an opinion piece. The views expressed are author’s own and have nothing to do with OTV’s charter or views. OTV does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.)
CVOTER-IANS exit poll
According to CVOTER-IANS exit poll, the NDA is likely to grab 287 seats in Lok Sabha elections but the ruling-party may fall short of half-way mark on its own as it is expected to win 236 seats
The BJP's seat projection of 236 is down from 283 it won in 2014 and the NDA's tally is expected to slide from 337 in 2014 to 287. The NDA's vote share is likely to be 42.3 per cent with the UPA getting 29.6 and others expected to corner 28.1 per cent.
The Congress-led UPA is expected to win 128 seats, up from 59 it got in 2014. Out of this, the Congress may get 80, almost doubling its tally of 44 last time.
NDTV poll of polls
The poll of polls of exit polls done by NDTV predicted 292 seats for the BJP-led NDA, 127 for the Congress-led UPA and 123 for "non-aligned" parties.
According to the survey, BJP will make major gains in Odisha and West Bengal, two states where it has been relatively weak but where it put a lot of effort to gain ground. However, it predicted that the BJP will suffer losses in Uttar Pradesh and will get 49 seats compared to 71 seats it won in 2014.
Times Now exit poll
The BJP-led NDA may get a clear majority with 306 Lok Sabha seats while their rival UPA could lag behind with only 132 seats, according to an exit poll conducted by TV channel Times Now.
The channel predicted that the BJP would emerge as the single largest party winning 262 seats, after the end of mammoth seven-phase polling for the 542 of the 543 parliamentary constituencies. The BJP, on its own, may fall short of majority by nine seats.
Similarly, some other exit poll projections are mentioned below.
Today's Chanakya exit poll
Today's Chanakya exit poll has predicted 300 seats only for BJP while its alliance, NDA is likely to get 350, UPA 95, including 55 seats for Congress, and others may get 97 seats.
India Today-Axis exit poll
India Today-Axis exit poll projections give NDA 339-365 seats, UPA to get 77-108 and others 69-95 seats.
News18-IPSOS exit poll
News18-IPSOS exit poll predicts 336 seats for NDA, BJP alone is projected to win 276, UPA to get 82 and others 124.
News Nation exit poll
News Nation exit poll predictions show 282-290 for NDA, 118-126 for UPA and 130-138 for others.
Suvarna News exit poll
Suvarna News exit poll projections predict 295-315 seats for NDA, 122-125 for UPA and 102-125 for others.
REPUBLIC/Jan Ki Baat exit poll
REPUBLIC/Jan Ki Baat exit poll projections show 305 seats for NDA and 124 seats for UPA.
With IANS inputs..
Sample this. Kaushalya Hikaka, BJD candidate from Koraput LS, has lost the polls to Congress’ Saptagiri Ulaka by a margin of only 3,613 votes. In contrast, the NOTA votes polled in the LS constituency had totalled to a whopping 36,525.
Such a high NOTA, to the scale of 10-times of the winning margin, shows a sort of high level of disenchantment among the voters for the candidates in the fray. This is a big signal for the political parties, feels Sahadev Sahu, Core Committee member of Odisha Election Watch.
Now, take the case of Laxmipur Assembly constituency. Here BJD’s Prabhu Jani won by a slender win of mere 229 votes against Kailash Kulesika of Congress. Interestingly, NOTA count here is a high of 7,026.
Experts are of the opinion that had the voters exercised their franchise for a particular candidate, instead of NOTA, the result would have been different altogether.
The data with Election Commission reveals in 20 of the 21 Lok Sabha seats in the State, NOTA numbers are next to votes of BJP, BJD and Congress.
In Odisha, a total of 3, 10, 494 voters have opted for NOTA, which on an average is a high of 14,790 per Lok Sabha constituency. Nabarangpur has recorded the maximum number of NOTAs, where the count was 44, 582.
The NOTA trend has sparked a serious concern among voters, leaders and experts alike. The question that begs their mind is why voters of tribal dominated districts like Koraput, Nabarangpur have chosen NOTA so profusely.
Congress Jeypore MLA elect Tara Bahinipati observed it an intentional and well-thought out decision by voters to go for NOTA, instead of candidates.
However, Dabugaon MLA Manohar Randhari said voters need to be made more aware so that they can realise the importance of their votes.
BJP State Vice-president Sameer Mohanty termed the development dangerous for democracy. He called upon candidates and political parties to seriously ponder over the rising NOTA menace.
“I think many voters out of ignorance think NOTA is also a candidate, so they are selecting the option,” said a voter.
However, experts are of the view that even though NOTA have no real significance in electing candidates, but it has an ethical significance in the electoral process.