Baripada: With BJP leaving no stone unturned to gain political mileage from election of Droupadi Murmu as India’s first tribal woman President, Chief Minister and ruling BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik is set to visit Mayurbhanj, from where she hails, Friday.
Patnaik on Thursday approved a proposal of Rungta Metals Private Limited for setting up an integrated steel plant at an investment of Rs 1400 crore in Rairangpur sub-division in Mayurbhanj, officials said.
Local people have been demanding a steel plant in Mayurbhanj district for a long time.
During the visit, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) president is also scheduled to inaugurate two major irrigation projects which will benefit farmers of Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar and Balasore districts. He is likely to launch several other development projects too.
Sources said the Chief Minister’s Office is preparing his final itinerary in coordination with the Mayurbhanj district administration.
Patnaik’s visit to Mayurbhanj is considered politically significant as the opposition BJP has already made ‘Daughter of Odisha’ Murmu’s election as the President a major issue. The party has activated its entire network to propagate that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sent a tribal woman from Mayurbhanj district to Raisina Hills.
During his recent visit to Odisha, Union Home Minister Amit Shah met some tribal people and presented them with national flags and photos featuring Murmu and Modi. He also called upon party workers to ensure that the Tricolour and the photo reach one crore households in the state.
Speculations are also rife that Modi may visit Rairangpur sometime after the monsoon.
The BJD also attempted to gain mileage out of the Presidential elections by putting up posters, banners and hoardings showing Murmu tying Rakhi on the hands of the CM. Patnaik also campaigned for her before the election and urged all MLAs to vote for the NDA candidate.
The next Odisha Assembly polls and the Lok Sabha elections are due in 2024.
Patnaik’s visit to Mayurbhanj is also considered part of his party’s election strategy. Of the nine Assembly segments in Mayurbhanj, BJP in 2019 won six seats and also the Mayurbhanj Lok Sabha seat.
The BJP has won the Lok Sabha elections in 2019 in Mayurbhanj and Sundergarh. On the other hand, BJD emerged victorious in Keonjhar which is adjacent to Sundergarh. All three districts are tribal-dominated.
Though BJD has regained the ground as it won 56 of the 59 Zilla Parishad seats in Mayurbhanj district in the panchayat elections held in February this year, party sources said, Murmu’s election as the President can tilt the balance again towards BJP.
PTI