Bhubaneswar: Stepping up its attack on Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over delay in announcement of candidates for the twin elections in Odisha, Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Monday claimed that the saffron party is not in a position to field suitable nominees for all 147 Assembly seats in the state.
“What we have been saying about dearth of leaders in BJP capable of contesting the upcoming elections has now been proved,” said BJD spokesperson Swayam Prakash Mohapatra.
While there are 147 Assembly constituencies in the state, BJP is not getting candidates even for 80 seats, he claimed, mocking at the saffron party’s claim that it would win at least 80 Assembly seats in the coming elections.
Though BJP has announced candidates for 21 Lok Sabha seats, it is struggling to declare nominee for a single Assembly constituency, he told reporters in Bhubaneswar.
The saffron party is looking for leaders rejected by other political parties in order to field them as its candidates, the BJD leader claimed, adding that delay in announcement of Assembly candidates has exposed BJP’s fragile organisation.
Stating that BJP is looking for leaders who indulged in anti-people and criminal activities, Mohapatra said, adding that the people of Odisha have come to know that the saffron party is not in a position to fight the upcoming elections as it has no candidate to fight the polls.
He further claimed that BJP is in such a precarious condition that it is now searching for candidates in places like bus stands and railway stations.