Exuding confidence, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday said his party will win the Bijepur assembly bypoll with a comfortable…
CM Naveen Patnaik
Exuding confidence, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday said his party will win the Bijepur assembly bypoll with a comfortable margin. The CM who left for Delhi on Tuesday told media persons that the BJD will, without doubt, win the bypoll. People will repose faith on us for the developmental activity and welfare schemes of the BJD government, he said.
He informed that he would be attending a meeting relating to the World Cup Hockey this year in Odisha. Reliable sources said Mr Mishra, the leader of opposition will also attend the meeting along with the CM, a development that defies logic as far as hockey world cup is concerned.
There is more than what meets the eye in the twin developments on Tuesday – the CM meeting the PM and the scheduled meeting between the CM and Mishra. Meanwhile, reports from Bijepur said the bypoll campaign turned dull in the evening on Tuesday due to Shivratri.
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The ruling BJD is confident of a victory and has ensured that its ministers and MLA’s camp in the assembly segment to canvass for candidae Rita Sahu. The BJP, on its part, roped in Odia film stars to canvass for its candidate Ashok Panigrahi. Reliable sources said the candidature of Panigrahi had irked BJP oldtimers who consider him to be an outsider and many traders in the area do not like Panigrahi.
This has pushed the BJP on the defensive. The Congress candidate Pranay Sahu has a lot of goodwill amongst people, but is starved of money as well as manpower. There is no postering or massive campaign material of the Congress and the campaign is no match to that of the BJD and BJP.
Yet Pranay hopes to do well as he claims that local people are his ‘star campaigners’ and door to door campaign more than the glitz and glamour of the BJP and BJD will work in his favour. Bijepur has been a Congress seat since last three elections and it will continue to be so, he added.
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