Puri: Crowd thronged Badadanda in large numbers to catch a glimpse of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he embarked on a roadshow in support of BJP candidates from Puri Parliamentary and Assembly constituencies on Monday.
The roadshow was conducted from Singhadwar to Medical Chhak in the pilgrim town. Prior to that, he visited the Shree Jagannath Temple and sought blessings of the sibling deities.
The PM was accompanied by state BJP president Manmohan Samal, the party’s MP candidate Sambit Patra and Puri MLA nominee Jayanta Sarangi. Huge crowds of BJP supporters gathered both sides of the barricaded stretch on Grand Road and on terraces, displaying Modi posters and BJP flags.
Patra, who lost the 2019 election to Pinaki Mishra of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), is contesting again this year against Congress’ Jaya Narayan Patnayak and BJD’s Arup Patnaik.
“I was overwhelmed to see thousands of people here when I visited the temple around 7 am. The upcoming phases of elections will help BJP cross the 400-plus mark. The eastern parts of the country, including Odisha, and Nari Shakti will drive India’s growth in the next 25 years. They will be the growth engine and it will be led by women as I had mentioned at the G 20 summit,” he told the DD News.
Modi also lambasted the Congress and four generations of Gandhi family for misusing the Constitution for their own benefit.
After the roadshow, Modi left for Angul where he will address an election rally at Angul stadium. He will address another Vijay Sankalp rally at Killa Padia in Cuttack at around 11.30 am.
The PM had arrived in Bhubaneswar on Sunday and held a meeting with state leaders at the party office. He then made a night halt at Raj Bhawan.
Speaking to a news channel, the PM reiterated that the BJP would topple the BJD government in Odisha. He also targeted the Naveen Patnaik-led government over the safety of Ratna Bhandar of Lord Jagannath and Odia Asmita (Odia pride). “Missing’ of Ratna Bhandar keys is surprising. Even hiding the report of the High Court’s committee shows that there is something fishy. No devotee will tolerate this,” he said.
Modi had earlier conducted a roadshow in Bhubaneswar on May 10.
