Next govt in Odisha will be of BJP: JP Nadda
BHUBANESWAR: Days after the Naveen Patnaik-led BJD managed to wrest Balasore assembly seat from BJP in a by-election, BJP president J P Nadda on Tuesday said BJP is on its way to form the next government in the state.
Nadda was speaking to party workers over video-conferencing after inaugurating six BJP offices with modern amenities in different parts of the state. The BJP has constructed the offices by buying land in different district headquarter towns.
“You march ahead. You are close to the destination. I can see BJP forming the next government in Odisha. We will together ensure a BJP government in the state,” Nadda told the BJP workers.
While the assembly in Odisha is due to 2024 simultaneously with Lok Sabha, Naveen Patnaik is in power in the state for the fifth time in a row with brute majority having 113 MLAs in the 147 member house. BJP with 22 MLAs is the main opposition party.
While the BJP did remarkably well in most other parts of the country, assembly election in Bihar and byelections in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Manipur, the saffron had to concede the Balasore seat, necessitated by the death of its sitting MLA Madan Mohan Dutta, to BJD. On the other hand, the regional party also comfortably retained Tirtol where the bypoll was held following death of BJD MLA Bishnu Das.
BJD has won all four assembly seats where voting were held after 2019—a deferred poll in Patkura as the BJD candidate died during the election process, by-election in Bijepur where Naveen resigned and the two recent by-polls.
Taking an indirect dig at Congress, Nadda said some parties where leaders work from home have become family-based party whereas in BJP, which gives importance to working from ‘Karyalayas’ (offices), the party has become family. Nadda also said the Naveen government in Odisha should implement Ayushman Bharat for healthcare benefits of the poor.