Strong anti-incumbency in Odisha: BJP leader (Interview - Election Special)


Posted on 18th Mar 2014 05:30 am by admin

Bhubaneswar, March 18 (IANS) A strong anti-incumbency mood prevails across Odisha against the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) led by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former union minister Jual Oram said.

"People are frustrated for many reasons...They are upset with the deteriorating law and order, increasing atrocities against women, chit fund scam, mining scam and jobs scam. Nobody is happy... farmers, youths, workers you take any one," Oram, 53, told IANS in an interview.

"The voters have realised that the BJD and the Congress are hand in glove. People are looking at the BJP as an alternative in Odisha," said Oram who is one of the BJP's national vice presidents.

The elections to Odisha's 21 Lok Sabha seats and the 147-member state assembly would be held simultaneously in two phases April 10 and 17. The BJD and Congress have 14 and six members respectively in the outgoing Lok Sabha while the BJP had none.

In the outgoing assembly, the BJD, the Congress, and the BJP have 110, 27, and six members respectively.

An opinion poll of private television channel NDTV conducted by Hansa Research released Friday predicted that the ruling BJD could get the lions share of 17 Lok Sabha seats, leaving the Congress and the BJP with mere three and one seat respectively.

Citing their internal assessments, a senior BJD leader said his party could retain the power in the state by securing as many as 123 seats.

Oram, however, said the ground reality is something else.

"There is no wave in favour of the BJD. Rather a strong positive wave prevails in favour of BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi. Besides people remember the work we did when the NDA (National Democratic Alliance) was in power," he said.

The tribal leader who served as a cabinet minister of tribal affairs department from 1999-09 said: "It is evident from the large crowd seen at the two public meetings Modi addressed in Odisha Feb 11 and March 14. In my calculation the BJP would get 10-12 Lok Sabha seats and 40-50 assembly seats in the state."

"I don't think Patnaik will be voted for fourth term in the assembly," said Oram, a two time legislator and three time Lok Sabha member from Sundergarh constituency.

He lost the Lok Sabha seat to the Congress in 2009 election by a margin of 10,505 votes.

Oram is seeking election again from the same Lok Sabha seat.

While the Congress has fielded outgoing Lok Sabha member and former chief minister Hemananda Biswal against him once again, the BJD has fielded former hockey captain and member of Rajya Sabha member Dilip Tirkey.

Oram said the Congress in the state has disintegrated and a large number of its leaders are joining other parties.

The ruling BJD has been facing the problem of internal bickering as well.

On the other hand, very few people left the BJP and he said this demonstrated that his party was stronger than others.

Large numbers of leaders from other parties are also joining BJP, he said.

He also said as most of the constituencies are set to witness multi-corner contests and any party which would be worst hit is the BJD.

The BJD and the BJP, allies for 11 years, parted ways after their talks for seat-sharing in the state for Lok Sabha elections of 2009 failed.

On whether the BJP still considers BJD as a potential partner after the election, Oram said: "I do not think we will have any post poll tie up with BJD."

Did you know?Explore Trending and Topic pages for more stories like this.
74 Like 11 Dislike
Previous news Next news
Other news

Modi, Jinping, and Shahbaz will meet at SCO Summit, what are its implications, will the mystery of the China border dispute be solved?

Modi-Jinping-Shahbaz: For the first time since the Russia-Ukraine war, Russian President Vladimir

Who was the 17-year-old Pakistani TikToker Sana Yousaf who was shot dead? She had made her last post 22 hours ago.

Sana Yousaf, who was entertaining fans by continuously sharing reels and videos on social media t

Android 11 will be available for these devices with new privacy features, know

New Delhi, Tech Desk. Google's new operating system Android 11 has been officially announced. The

Gujarat: Shots fired to capture Pakistani boat in the Arabian Sea, heroin worth 280 crores seized, nine arrested

The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) and Gujarat ATS had to open fire to nab a Pakistani boat from the Ar

Doda Terror Attack: Terrorist attack in Chhatragalan Top, five army soldiers, one SPO injured, operation continues

Late on Tuesday night, terrorists targeted a joint check post of the army and police at Chhatraga

Foreign Trade Policy: The government extended the foreign trade policy for six months, the period was to end on 30

The government on Monday said it has decided to extend the existing foreign trade policy (2015-20

IND vs ENG: Kohli can leave Sachin behind in this matter during the ODI series, keep an eye on 19-year-old record

Indian team's star batsman Virat Kohli can register a special achievement in his name during the

Conspiracy of big attack: Terrorist arrested from Mumbai used to get calls from Pakistan, Zakir was in the process of big terrorist attack

Zakir Sheikh, who was arrested from the Jogeshwari area of ​​Mumbai on September 17, has a ne

Gujarat model doesn't apply everywhere: Rahul

Guwahati, March 27 (IANS) Each state has its own model of development and the Gujarat model can

AAP names candidate against Shatrughan Sinha in eighth list

New Delhi, March 19 (IANS) The Aam Aadmi Party would field Parveen Amanullah from Patna Sahib i

Sign up to write
Sign up now if you have flare of writing..
Login   |   Register
Follow Us
Indyaspeak @ Facebook Indyaspeak @ Twitter Indyaspeak @ Pinterest RSS



Play Free Quiz and Win Cash