Bhubaneswar: Veteran leader and former Odisha minister Damodar Rout has said that he was confident that the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) will form the government in the state after the 2024 Assembly elections.
Talking to reporters at his residence here on Saturday, Rout said, “I do not belong to any political party and my 48-years experience in state politics tells me that there is no alternative to Naveen Patnaik in Odisha and hence people will vote for him and his party again.” “Do the two national party in Odisha – BJP and Congress – have any leader capable of challenging Naveen? In fact, Naveen’s popularity is soaring by the day, while support for the Congress has touched the nadir. On the other hand, people still do not have faith on the BJP,” the octogenarian politician said.
According to Rout, during his election campaigning in Odisha in 2014, Union Home Amit Shah had claimed to wipe out the BJP from the state but his party failed to get majority. Even the Congress has made tall claims, but people do not trust them anymore. “The result of the recently held by-election to the Padmapur Assembly seat is ample proof of this.”
When asked to comment on the preparations of the different political parties for the 2024 Assembly elections, Dama Rout said, “How can I predict how many seats each party will get? I am not a member of any political party now. But my experience in politics says that people will vote for Naveen and his party and enable them to form the government again.”
Rout is of the view that the result of the Padmapur by-election is a clear indication of what lies ahead for Congress, BJP and BJD. “People of Odisha have much faith on Naveen and they will vote for him to form the next government,” he concluded.
