Bhubaneswar: As the campaigning for the ensuing Lok Sabha and Assembly elections gain momentum, Governing BJD Supermo and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is all set to begin a high voltage campaign from tomorrow from his home turf Hinjili in Ganjam district.
On the first day of the campaign, Shri Patnaik will address a public meetings in the Hinjili Assembly constituency and next day the Chief Minister will hold a public rally in Rayagada on April 25, the day nominations for the first phase of elections to four Lok Sabha seats and 28 Assembly seats in the State will close. Kartik Pandian, Chairman 5T will be accompanying BJD Supremo.
Shri Patnaik is going to begin campaigning a day before BJP heavyweight and Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s visit to Odisha ahead of elections.
BJP President Manmohan Samal told newsmen here that Shri Shah will reach Sonepur at 3:30 PM to address a public meeting. The Union Home Minister will then proceed to Bhubaneswar and hold a closed-door meeting with party leaders and office bearers to discuss the strategy for the upcoming elections to both Lok Sabha and Assembly in the State.
The visit of Shri Shah to address an election meeting at Sonepur will further boost the morale of the party workers, as the BJP has a strong base in Western Odisha, winning Sambalpur, Sundargarh, Kalahandi, Bolangir, and Bargarh Lok Sabha seats in the 2019 election.
BJP Party sources said Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Party National President J P Nadda, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, besides several other central leaders, would also visit the state for electioneering.
Odisha will go to the polls in the first phase (fourth phase in the country) on May 13 for Nabarangpur, Kalahandi, Koraput, and Berhampur Lok Sabha seats and 28 Assembly seats falling under these four parliamentary constituencies.
Electioneering in Odisha is yet to pick up momentum due to unprecedented heatwave conditions sweeping across the state, with mercury rising over 40 degrees Celsius in several places.
The campaign has so far remained low-key in the morning hours. The campaign is over by noon. There is hardly any campaigning between 12 noon and 4pm. During this time, the leaders prefer to remain engaged with senior leaders to chalk out their plans.
Moreover, Congress has planned to rope in top level leaders like Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and other leaders for campaigning in Odisha. Rahul Gandhi is likely to visit Salepur in Cuttack district on April 28.
