Bhubaneswar:

Senior BJD leader VK Pandian on Saturday challenged the BJP to declare its CM candidate for Odisha and claimed that the party would get less than 10 per cent votes if it names any of its current state leaders.

Campaigning in the Sundergarh Lok Sabha seat, Mr Pandian said BJP has been “day-dreaming” about forming government in Odisha since 2014.

“When elections come many leaders come as election tourists, and then they are not seen for five years,” he said.

“It’s a very old habit of BJP leaders of Odisha to daydream about forming government as Naveen Patnaik has said. They have been daydreaming since 2014,” he added.

Mr Pandian claimed the BJP was unable to declare its CM candidate because it knows the day it will announce, its vote share will go below 10 per cent.

“PM Modi is claiming that the BJP chief minister will take oath on June 10. The people of Odisha have the right to know who is the BJP’s CM candidate. Let the people decide between Naveen Patnaik and the BJP candidate. The BJP is afraid to declare its CM candidate because they know that if they choose any one of the current leaders, they will get less than 10 per cent votes,” he said.

“I challenge the BJP to declare its CM candidate,” he added.

In an indirect reference to Mr Pandian’s earlier assertion that he is the natural successor to all great values of CM Patnaik, PM Modi told an election rally, “I am here to invite you to the swearing-in ceremony of the BJP chief minister in Bhubaneswar on June 10. A son or daughter of the soil who understands the state’s culture, language and tradition will be made the CM.” 

Mr Pandian said the BJP is claiming that it will make Odisha the top state in the country, “but is Gujarat the number one state?” “Malnutrition among children in Gujarat is 40 per cent. Anaemia among children in Gujarat is 79 per cent. Per capita debt burden of Gujarat is close to Rs 60,000,” he claimed.

Claiming that CM Patnaik never forgets his promises, Mr Pandian said that the BJD manifesto will be converted into a policy document after the elections.

Odisha will vote for its 21 Lok Sabha seats and the 147-member assembly, simultaneously, in four phases, starting on May 13.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Berhampur (Odisha):

Bureaucrat-turned-BJD leader VK Pandian on Tuesday said the people of Odisha would not like a chief minister who will be remote-controlled by Delhi.

The comment of Mr Pandian, a close aide of Chief Minister and BJD president Naveen Patnaik, came a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated that the BJP will select its CM on June 6 and the saffron party’s government will take oath in Odisha on June 10.

Mr Patnaik takes his decisions in Bhubaneswar and not sitting in Delhi, he said.

“The people have been electing Naveen Patnaik as their chief minister since 2000 and they will not like Delhi leaders to select any other chief minister,” Mr Pandian said at a roadshow in Khalikote town in Ganjam district.

He claimed that Mr Patnaik will take oath as the CM for the sixth consecutive term on June 9.

“The BJD has declared Naveen Babu as its chief minister. If you (BJP) have courage, declare the name of your chief ministerial candidate. I am sure, if you name who will be the CM, the party will not get 10 per cent votes in the state,” he said.

Without naming Dharmendra Pradhan, he said a union minister was trying to become the chief minister of the state.

If the Delhi leaders are given the opportunity to select Odisha’s chief minister, the state would be pushed to 25 years back, he claimed.

“Let me tell you that Delhi leaders will hold the remote of the state government and all decisions will be taken by someone else in Delhi and not the chief minister,” he said.

Be it flood or drought, a BJP CM will have to depend on the direction of leaders in New Delhi, as had been done during the Congress government 25 years ago, Mr Pandian claimed.

“The people of Odisha are the remote controller of Naveen Patnaik. This is the difference between a double-engine government and the Naveen engine government,” Mr Pandian said.

Lok Sabha and assembly elections will be held simultaneously in Odisha.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)