Jeypore: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s close aide and senior leader V K Pandian on Wednesday held a roadshow in Jeypore Assembly constituency, stepping up Biju Janata Dal’s (BJD) effort to wrest the seat from Congress in the upcoming elections.
After facing defeat in two consecutive Assembly elections in Jeypore, BJD is making all out efforts to snatch the seat this time through aggressive campaign.
In order to bolster BJD’s prospects, its star campaigner Pandian held an impressive roadshow in Jeypore town in the evening.
Jeypore, which is now represented senior Congress leader Tara Prasad Bahinipati, is one of the seven Assembly segments under Koraput Lok Sabha Seat. Bahinipati, who won the seat in 2014 as well as 2019, is seeking re-election from the seat.
Congress had also won the Koraput Lok Sabha seat in 2019 elections when its candidate Saptagiri Ulaka emerged victorious. BJD has fielded Kausalaya Hikaka for Koraput Lok Sabha seat and Indira Nanda for Jeypore Assembly constituency.
Earlier in the day, Pandian led the poll campaign in Chhatrapur in Ganjam, Naveen’s home district, where he launched a scathing attack on the opposition BJP and Congress leaders accusing them of opposing Odisha government’s welfare schemes and politicising development work.
Addressing rallies, the star campaigner highlighted Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s commitment to the welfare of Odisha’s 4.5 crore citizens.
He appealed to people to vote for “Jodi Sankha” (double conch) in the elections, one for the Lok Sabha and another for the assembly, in order to keep the development works continuing.