Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Tuesday that the BJP-led NDA had already crossed the 310-seat mark and was for towards 400-plus seats to ensure a third term for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Amit Shah, who is regarded as the poll strategist of the BJP, predicted the fall of Naveen Patnaik Government in Odisha saying the lotus (BJP’s symbol) would bloom in the state.

Launching a frontal attack on the Patnaik-led BJD Government, the home minister said Odisha was set to see a double change with the BJP coming to power in the state also.

Invoking Odia asmita (pride) during an election meeting in Sambalpur, the BJP stalwart said, “Naveen Babu (Odisha CM) has let loose ‘Babu Shahi’ (bureaucracy-centric governance) in Odisha and throttled the culture and pride of the state. This has deeply hurt the pride of Odia people.”

Seeking votes for the BJP, he said his party would ensure the revival of Odia’s culture, tradition, and pride.

In an indirect reference to Tamil Nadu-born bureaucrat-turned-politician VK Pandian groomed by CM Patnaik as his successor, he asked the people if they would like a ‘Tamil babu’ to rule the state and asserted that “a bhumiputra (son of the soil) would rule the state instead of a Tamil babu if they voted the BJP to power”.

Pandian, who has emerged as a star campaigner of the regional party after Patnaik, is found taking centre stage in election meetings across the state seeking votes in the name of Naveen Patnaik. The ‘outsider’ tag attached to him has prompted the BJP to make it its principal poll plank by playing the ‘Odia pride’ card to woo the voters.

At a time when the entire country is celebrating the consecration of Ram Temple at Ayodhya, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) is trying to prevent Odisha from doing so. The BJD Government has also conspired to halt the world-famous Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath, he said.

Listing the corrupt practices under the BJD Government, he alleged, “The rich mineral resources here are being plundered by the babus of Naveen Patnaik. It will be stopped if the BJP forms a government in Odisha.”

Referring to the large-scale migration of labour force from Odisha to other states, he said, “We want to ensure that not a single youth from Odisha has to leave his family in search of livelihood.

Odisha has everything right from a vast coastline, and natural resources to skilled manpower. The only thing it lacks is a hardworking chief minister at the helm, Shah pointed out referring to Patnaik’s dependence on bureaucrats to rule the state.