Odisha: BJP Leaders, Workers Look to PM Modi’s March 5 Visit for Clarity on Party’s 2024 Mission

Bhubaneswar: All eyes are Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Odisha visit in the first week of March when he will address a public rally at Chandikhol in Jajpur district, apart from participating in some government programmes.

BJP's co-in-charge for Odisha, Lata Usendi on Thursday informed that the PM will visit the state on March 5.

The BJP state leaders and workers believe that the PM would clear the air about the party’s Odisha mission with regard to the forthcoming Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.

As per sources, the PM is likely to address a public meeting in Jajpur's Chandikhol and lay the foundation stone of several developmental projects. However, the programme schedule is yet to be finalised.

Earlier on February 3, the Prime Minister visited Odisha. He had then inaugurated, dedicated to the nation and laid the foundation stone of multiple infrastructure projects worth more than Rs 68,000 crore during a public programme in Sambalpur.

Though the PM had then addressed a public meeting at Sambalpur, he has not spelt out a single word against the Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the key rival of the BJP in the state.

The BJD has been in power in Odisha since 2000. The mysterious silence of the PM Modi and home minister Amit Shah on Odisha affairs has given rise to the speculation in political circles about a possible alliance with the BJD.

Though the BJD and BJP fight bitter political wars during the elections, they surprisingly stand by each other after the polls. The BJD has been extending crucial support to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) both inside and outside the Parliament at the time of necessity.

Though Odisha witnessed a mega mining scam and irregularities by chit fund firms, the BJP has not been very vocal on these issues. The BJP’s soft stand on Odisha scams, as political analysts maintain, is a political strategy to keep the BJD on tenterhooks.

During his last visit, the PM had inaugurated the permanent IIM Sambalpur campus in the presence of Odisha Governor Raghubar Das, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik; Union ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and Ashwini Vaishnaw and other BJP leaders.

He also flagged off Puri-Sonepur-Puri Weekly Express, improving connectivity for the rail passengers in the region.