Kendrapara: Chief Minister and Biju Janata Dal supremo Naveen Patnaik will visit Patkura in this district Monday and address a public meeting in support of his party nominee for the Assembly seat, a report said.
Politics in this part of the state has warmed up with leaders of various political parties thronging Patkura every day and campaigning for their respective party candidates even as the Election Commission is yet to announce the date for the election to this Assembly seat. Before addressing the public rally, the Chief Minister will visit the Baladevjew temple and pay obeisance to the deity there.
After several MPs and MLAs visited this Assembly seat and campaigned for their respective party candidates, it’s now the turn up the Chief Minister to visit the area and campaign for the party candidate.
The ruling BJD has fielded Sabitri Agarwalla, the wife of late Bed Prakash Agarwalla as its candidate here, while the BJP has fielded Bijoy Mohapatra as its nominee. The Congress party has fielded Jayant Mohanty for the seat.
Union Ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and Pratap Chandra Sarangi are also scheduled to visit the area for campaigning next week. This apart, various Central and state-level Congress leaders are slated to visit the area sooner or later.
This Assembly seat was scheduled to go to polls April 29, during the general elections. However, election for this Assembly seat was cancelled after the death of the BJD candidate Bed Prakash Agarwalla amidst the heat of the campaigning. As a result, the Election Commission cancelled the election and scheduled it to May 19.
Later, the election was cancelled again and deferred from May 6 for two more months after cyclonic storm Fani lashed the state May 3.
However, notwithstanding the uncertainties prevailing over the date of the election, various political parties have launched their campaigning and are trying to woo the electorate in their favour.
The BJD has wrested four Assembly seats as well as the Kendrapara Lok Sabha seat in this district and is putting in all efforts to make a clean sweep by winning the Patkura seat.
In an election meeting during the general election, the Chief Minister had assured the voters of taking the responsibility of development of the district in his own hands. He, however, has not given a ministerial berth to any MLA from the region in his Council of Ministers.
However, he visited the district after the cyclonic storm Fani and conducted a review meeting in the Collectorate over the loss due to the calamity.
In this context, the Chief Minister’s visit to Patkura Monday acquires prominence. The party is leaving no stone unturned and has deployed all its leaders and even ministers to win this seat, which has now become prestige issue for BJD.
Moreover, all eyes are on the election to this Assembly seat as the BJP has formed the government at Centre, while the BJD has formed the government in the state.
PNN