Bhubaneswar: Determined to keep the BJP at bay, chief minister and BJD president Naveen Patnaik appears to have firmed up a strategy that feeds on the weaknesses of his principal rival in the state.

While Naveen has already finalised the blueprint for the BJD's Save Mahanadi campaign that takes off on May 16 seeking to highlight the BJP-ruled Centre and Chhattisgarh government's allegedly biased attitude against Odisha, he is also focusing on stepping up his pro-poor initiatives.

"On the Mahanadi, our stand is clear. We are critical of the Centre because of its support to Chhattisgarh, which has constructed barrages in the river upstream, thus reducing its water flow in the downstream. Several areas in Odisha are facing the threat of turning arid because of this," said BJD secretary Bijay Nayak, adding that the role of the state BJP in the issue was suspected.

"They appear to be putting the party above the state as they can neither afford to go against the Centre nor Chhattisgarh, where elections are due this year. We will expose them completely on this," he said.

Nayak felt the BJD would also gain from initiatives such as distribution of land " pattas" to slum dwellers by the chief minister at Chhatrapur on Monday.

"The BJP can come nowhere near us as far as our efforts to empower the poorer sections of the society are concerned. They have only been talking big about the development of the downtrodden," he said.

The BJD has also stepped up the implementation of its rural outreach programme, Ama Gaon Ama Vikas (our village, our development), widely perceived as a counter to the BJP's Mo Booth Sabuthu Mazboot (my booth is the strongest) initiative.

While the ruling party leaders feel the government's welfare measures are likely to pay dividends in the next elections, BJP national secretary Suresh Pujari dismisses the possibility.

"The fact is that they have botched up the implementation of most of the schemes with their benefits not percolating to the grassroots level. Thus, there has been no major change in the living standards of the poor. We are going to expose them on this," he said.

Opposition leaders have also sought to highlight the internal differences within the ruling party on crucial issues such as the Mahanadi water sharing dispute with Chhattisgarh.

"Former minister Damodar Rout has openly expressed his dissatisfaction for not being consulted on the Mahanadi issue. This shows the BJD is not united," said a Congress leader.