Bhubaneswar: A month after comparing election with football matches, Leader of Opposition Jayanarayan Mishra on Tuesday equated it with agriculture by saying that BJP has geared up to oust Naveen Patnaik government in Odisha for which ‘fertilisers’ are being applied now to ‘harvest crops’ in 2024 polls.
Asserting that BJP is galvanising itself to ensure victory in the next polls, Mishra said in order to get a good yield, one must sow the seeds at right time, irrigate the field, remove weeds and apply fertilisers as per schedule as every venture needs to be taken up in accordance with a proper process and time frame.
“Now, we are applying fertilisers and confident of a good harvest in 2024,” the firebrand BJP leader said, adding that the party is taking right steps at the right time in order to prevent any damage to the final result.
Earlier in August, Mishra had drawn a comparison between elections and football matches after BJP appointed Sunil Bansal as its Odisha in-charge and said that in a 90-minute football match, it is not necessary for a single team to play attacking game throughout and the final 15 minutes are important. “Now, the new coach will prepare the strategy. We’ll score when time will come,” Mishra, a former footballer, said while referring to party’s strategy for the next elections.
The senior leader, who is back in Odisha after meeting Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP President J P Nadda in Delhi, said the party’s central leaders are making serious efforts and fine-tuning strategies to ensure the defeat of Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in 2024 elections.
“We are proceeding phase by phase as we know it well that crops are not harvested on a single day,” he said.
During the discussion in Delhi, the top leaders were given a clear picture about the political situation in Odisha and the manner in which Naveen-led BJD has been winning elections by misusing government machinery and adopting unfair methods, he said.
Stating that central party leaders are very much aware of the ground realities in Odisha’s political turf, Mishra said a well-thought strategy is being worked out on the advice of top leaders, including Shah and Nadda, to take on BJD.
To a query, the BJP leader the party never uses CBI and Enforcement Directorate (ED) as a political weapon, but believes in the hard work of its workers.
However, there is a need for these premier investigating agencies to take necessary action in Odisha which is witnessing large-scale corruption, he added.
Reacting sharply to Mishra’s remarks, BJD Spokesperson Lenin Mohanty said the BJP leader knows it very well that fertiliser is in short supply in the country and the committed quota for the state is also not being provided. Mishra should ensure sufficient supply of fertilisers for farmers and then think of their own use, he said.
“There is time of the year when farming is done. We have seen Bhubaneswar BJP MP starting farming during flood. Hope Jaynarayan babu is not adopting the same way,” Mohanty said.
