Nuapada: Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and Chhattisgarh counterpart Vishnu Deo Sai accused BJD president Naveen Patnaik of “betraying” Nuapada’s trust and neglecting his party MLA Rajendra Dholakia during illness during a joint address Thursday.
Both the CMs campaigned for Jay Dholakia, the BJP candidate for the Nuapada bypoll.
Patnaik, November 3, while addressing an election rally in Nuapada, had alleged that he, along with the people of Nuapada, was betrayed as Jay, who was tipped to become a BJD candidate, joined the BJP and became the saffron party nominee
“The word ‘Beiman’ (betrayer) does not suit the stature of a five-time chief minister, Naveen Patnaik. Merely joining a party, one becomes ‘Beiman’? asked Majhi.
He said the BJD president had welcomed leaders from rival parties into the BJD in the past, also.
Referring to Patnaik’s “candidate chori” allegation against the BJP, Majhi said, “The BJD had done it earlier. The then ruling party (BJD) made Tusharkanti Behera its candidate at the Kakatpur assembly segment even as he was declared as a BJP candidate. Behera was made a candidate by luring him with a ministerial berth.”
The Odisha CM referred to BJD candidate Snehangini Chhuria as an “outsider” in Nuapada and appealed to the people to vote for BJP candidate Jay Dholakia, whose father has worked for them for several decades.
Majhi alleged that the BJD did not show any sympathy towards its Nuapada MLA, Rajendra Dholakia, when he was admitted to the hospital. None of the party leaders visited him in the hospital.
Majhi also joined a road show from Udyanbandh to Komna.
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai addressed a public meeting at Panchampur village in support of the BJP candidate.
“Though Naveen Patnaik remained chief minister of Odisha for 24 years, he could not learn the Odia language. Our Kalahandi MP, Malvika Singh, hails from Himachal Pradesh and got married in Odisha. She learnt Odia to manage her family, but Patnaik could not learn Odia to manage the state,” Sai said.
Sai alleged Patnaik not only failed to develop Nuapada, but also ignored his party MLA, Rajendra Dholakia, when he was admitted to a hospital in Chennai.
“The man (Naveen Patnaik) who is not bothered about his own MLA (Rajendra Dholakia), cannot think of the welfare of the people in his constituency,” Sai told the gathering in the presence of Rajendra Dholakia’s wife, Kalpana, on the dais.
The Nuapada bypoll was necessitated following the demise of sitting BJD MLA Rajendra Dholakia.
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