Bhubaneswar: Mounting a scathing attack on the ruling BJD in Odisha over certain remarks by its leaders, BJP on Tuesday claimed that a recent survey showed Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s popularity has dropped by 22 per cent in a year.
Claiming that the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) is now in trouble with its leader’s popularity falling, senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Prithviraj Harichandan told reporters in Bhubaneswar that trouble has also mounted for the Chief Minister.
With the Chief Minister’s approval rate declining by 22 per cent in a year, the BJD government is also in trouble, the BJP leader claimed, adding that the popularity of BJD has also dropped along with that of Naveen. Because of this reason, they are making a government official make whirlwind tours of the state as a new face of the ruling party, he claimed.
The BJP leader spoke about Naveen’s dwindling popularity while rubbishing BJD MP Sasmit Patra’s claim about moves for expelled ruling party leader Prashant Jagdev joining the saffron party after ng a discussion with Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Dubbing Patra’s statement as baseless, he said Jagdev and Dharmendra have not met and no discussion has taken place between the two about the expelled BJD leader joining the BJP.
The BJP leader also challenged Sasmit Patra to provide proof of such a meeting and accused the BJD MP of making such claims at the instruction of the third floor.
It may be noted here that Sasmit Patra had on Monday stated that Prashant Jagdev may join BJP. Reacting to the ‘Shashikala Syndrome’ barb of Dharmendra, Patra had said that Naveen Patnaik had suspended Jagdev for attacking BJP leaders and also later expelled him from the BJD. However, the same Jagdev is now going to join the BJP with the blessings of Dharmendra, the BJD MP had claimed.
