Puri: The rath yatra, the biggest festival of the state, has become an occasion for political rivals BJD and BJP to showcase their achievements through posters and hoardings. This is the last rath yatra before the next general elections.
Both the parties are making an attempt to showcase the achievements of their respective governments in the state and at the Centre.
Despite intermittent rain, chief minister Naveen Patnaik and Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan reached Puri on Saturday to pull the chariots. Naveen was accompanied by his ministerial colleagues who were seen pulling the chariots and waving to people.
The BJD government has put up hoardings of Naveen Patnaik at vintage points on the Grand Road (Bada Danda), particularly near the Jagannath temple. Some of the hoardings carried the words "Janata Seva, Jagannath Seva (Service to people is service to Lord Jagannath) with a smiling picture of Naveen.
"With this message, the Naveen Patnaik government wants to make it clear its only objective is to serve the people. It is not hankering after power like others," said a senior BJD leader.
Major schemes of the Naveen Patnaik government, including Yuva Bahini, Skill Odisha, Mo School Abhijana, Sustha Odisha, Land for slum-dwellers and Amaa Gaon Aaam Vikash, have been prominently displayed on the hoardings. Hoardings have been put up not only in Odia but also in Hindi and English.
The entire city of Puri has been plastered with posters of chief minsiter Naveen and Prime Minister Narendra Modi wishing happy rath yatra to the devotees. However, while BJD hoardings only Naveen's pictures, those of the BJP carry pictures of Union ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and Jual Oram apart from BJP state president Basant Panda and BJP legislature party leader K.V. Singh Deo along with Modi. The Centre has also highlighted its Saubhagya scheme and Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Ghar Yojana scheme through hoardings in the city. The cooking gas distribution scheme of the Union government has also been highlighted.
Though the Congress campaign is nothing compared to the BJP and BJD in the hoarding war, it has still put some with pictures of its state president Niranajan Patnaik at some places in the town and at some places on the road from Bhubaneswar to Puri. Some local Congress leaders are also featured in the posters.
"They have the money to put up so many hoardings. We are not indulging in politics but just wishing people a happy rath yatra," said Niranjan Patnaik.
