Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday derided Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s assertion that Odisha will witness a Tripura-like poll outcome.
“The formula adopted by the BJP for the assembly elections in Tripura will not work here. You will see that the BJD will do exceedingly well in the upcoming elections,” the Chief Minister told mediapersons here.
Asked about the announcement of the candidates for the remaining three Lok Sabha and 19 Assembly seats, he said it would be made very soon.
Notably, the Prime Minister while interacting with a fisherman from Mahakalapada area in Kendrapara district via video-conferencing from New Delhi during ‘Main Bhi Chowkidar’ programme on Sunday, had said that the BJP will script a Tripura-like victory in Odisha and end the 19-year rule of the BJD government. “Odisha will be second Tripura for BJP,” he had pointed out.
The Prime Minister had also said that the BJP has a good base in Odisha and he was quite impressed by the huge turnout of the crowd and their unbridled enthusiasm during his recent visit to Odisha to campaign for his party candidates.
Modi’s comments assume significance as the saffron party has focused its attention on eastern states like Odisha and West Bengal for the ensuing elections. He is scheduled to hold two election rallies in the state in the coming week – April 2 and April 6.
Apart from Modi, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley also expressed similar optimism about the party’s fortunes in states like Odisha.
“The Tripura experience is going to be repeated in Odisha, West Bengal and Kerala. With new chemistry, our vote share and seats will have exponential jump,” Jaitley tweeted.
“People want development, growth and a strong nation and not caste politics. India has shown it in 2014 elections and will re-establish it in 2019,” he added.
