No impact on people, says BJD as Modi accuses Naveen Patnaik govt of corruption, inefficiency

Claiming that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech will have no impact on the people of Odisha, BJD Monday said people of the state will continue to bless Naveen Patnaik in the upcoming polls as they have done for the last 19 years.

BJD spokesperson Sasmit Patra said the people of Odisha have blessed his party and its chief Naveen Patnaik for the past 19 years and "will continue to do so in the coming years as well".

"The PM's speech at the public meeting will not have any impact on the people of Odisha," he said.

During his visit Monday, second in last three months, Modi attacked the state government alleging corruption, inefficiency and neglect of farmers' woes, virtually sounding the poll bugle where state elections would coincide with the national polls next year.

Though the Congress is the main opposition party in Odisha, the BJP has emerged as a formidable force. The party got around 18 per cent votes in the last Assembly elections and is now hoping to topple the Naveen Patnaik government, which is power for the last four terms.

In last year's rural polls, BJP came up as the main challenger to Patnaik's party, knocking off Congress from the second position. Of the 846 Zilla Parishad seats for which elections were held, the BJP won 297 as against BJD's 473 seats. Congress was reduced to just 60.

In his address today, Modi alleged the "demon of corruption" has become strong in the state with an all-pervading 'percentage commission culture'. He alleged that inefficiency and corruption has kept the state backward despite assistance from the Centre and sought to know who is "feeding and patronising the demon of corruption".

Reacting to Modi's rally, state Congress said the prime minister's speech made it clear that the BJP and the BJD have a secret nexus.

"Todays speech by Prime Minister Modi made it clear that the BJP and the BJD have a secret nexus and this is the reason both are silent on issues like chit fund scams and farmers problems in Odisha," said state Congress' media cell chief Satya Prakash.