Bhubaneswar, April 24 (Representative) Odisha Chief Minister and BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik kicked off his election campaign from Hinjili, his home constituency, on Wednesday, slamming the opposition parties for opposing the developmental work undertaken by his government. The Chief Minister urged the people to vote and bless “Jodi Sankha” (double conch), which is the identity of Odisha as well as development. The conch is the party symbol of the ruling BJD. He said that with the blessings of the people, the BJD would win the assembly elections with an absolute majority in the upcoming election and also perform much better in the Lok Sabha elections in the state. Earlier on Tuesday, in a video release, the Chief Minister, holding two conches in both hands had appealed to the people to vote for the double conch, one for the MLA and one for the MP, as Odisha is going for simultaneous polls for both the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. Addressing the election meeting in Hinjili, Patnaik said development is the identity of Odisha, but unfortunately, the opposition political parties were indulging in politics by obstructing developmental work.
He said the people of Odisha knew the real faces of the opposition, who, he said, would never succeed in opposing the state’s development. Describing the 4.5 crore people of Odisha as his family, the BJD supremo sought their blessings and support for the development of the state. He said the period from 2024 to 2034 would be the decade of development for Odisha and a golden period for the youth of Odisha, focusing on skill development, employment, and attracting investment from around the world. Patnaik said Odisha would celebrate its 100th year of statehood in 2036 and emerge as the number one state in the country. Patnaik said Hinjili is the model of development and has shown the path of development to the state, as all the transformation works of the government, be it in the 5T school, health, or Ama Hospital, have been launched from this constituency.
“Under Mission Shakti, our mothers have taken loans of Rs. 18,000 crores with zero percent interest and become entrepreneurs,” he said, adding that the farmers are also getting loans with zero percent interest, which he said is a milestone in Odisha’s development.” The Chief Minister said he has been working for the people of the state and will continue to serve them. He claimed that Odisha has played a significant role and topped in disaster management, supplying PDS to the whole country, women empowerment, investment, special budgets for the farmers, and the Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojna (BSKY), which he described as unique in the country. The chief minister also addressed another public meeting at Shergada during the day, appealing to the people to vote for the BJD both in the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections to keep the winning spree of the party which has been consecutively winning the Assembly elections for the fifth time in a row since 2000.