Bhubaneswar: With a few days left for the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in Odisha, major political parties are raising the campaign pitch with a battery of heavyweights set to make whistlestop tours of the state on Thursday to woo the voters.
While Biju Janata Dal (BJD) chief and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is crisscrossing several constituencies to campaign for party candidates, top national leaders of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are set to make whirlwind tours of Odisha for high-voltage campaign.
Among the BJP heavyweights set to hit the campaign trail in the sate are Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
Naveen Patnaik is set to campaign in Ganjam and Kandhamal districts to bolster the poll prospects of BJD candidates. The BJD supremo is slated to land at the playground of Kanisi-based Balaji Vidyapitha in Ganjam, where he will address a public meeting to garner votes for party candidates.
Naveen will then proceed to Aska in the same district to hold another public meeting, before heading to Phulbani in Kandhamal district to address a poll rally.
In Phulbani, the BJD supremo will rally support for Achyuta Samanta, the party’s candidate for the Kandhamal Lok Sabha seat, along with MLA candidates from the constituency.
Similarly, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari will be on a one-day visit to Odisha’s Puri on Thursday. Gadkari will campaign for party candidates for upcoming Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in the State.
Gadkari is scheduled land at Talabania in Puri and then proceed to Jagannath Temple to offer prayers before the sibling deities at the 12th century shrine. Thereafter, he will hold huge rally at Krushnaprasad in Puri.
Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma will also be on a day-long visit to Odisha’s Malkangiri, Chitrokonda and Khallikote to hold public meetings there.
Similarly, Chhattisgarh CM Vishnu Deo Sai is slated to visit Nabarangpur and address a couple of election meetings of BJP.
