Bhubaneswar: Taking a dig at Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for contesting from two Assembly seats, senior BJP leader Samir Mohanty on Wednesday said if the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) president has self-confidence he should contest from one place.
Mohanty, a former state BJP president, said Naveen’s candidature from Kantabanji in Balangir district will have no impact on BJD’s performance in the region as the Chief Minister has always betrayed the people of western Odisha.
Accusing the Chief Minister of having failed to fulfil any of his promises, Mohanty said Naveen could not facilitate the establishment of a High Court bench in western Odisha.
Similarly, Padampur is yet to be declared a district despite Naveen’s promise during the bypoll, he said, adding that cement and sugar mills have been shut down in Bargarh, while farmers have suffered a lot due to ‘Katni Chhatni’ of paddy during procurement.
Naveen contested from two seats in 2019 also, but he quit the Bijepur seat in Bargarh and retained his traditional Hinjli seat. During bypolls, the CM always promises to take care of the constituency, but people know what happens thereafter, the BJP leader said.
Stating that the people of western Odisha have come to know the true colours of Naveen and BJD, Mohanty said they will give a befitting reply to the BJD this time instead of getting carried away by any false promise.
