Bhubaneswar: An alert security man on Tuesday intercepted a shoe hurled at chief minister Naveen Patnaik at an election meeting at Kumbhari in Bijepur Assembly constituency.

Kartik Meher, who hurled the shoe and hails from the adjoining Padampur area, was overpowered by security men and handed over to police.

The security personnel caught the shoe, while others formed a cordon around Naveen, who was waving at the crowd at the end of his brief speech, when the incident took place. Security personnel escorted him out of the venue.

The incident took a political spin with BJD leaders alleging that Meher was a BJP activist. The police also suspect the man to be a BJP worker and claimed that a party flag was found on him.

Local BJD MLA Debesh Acharya said: "He is a BJP worker and has come from outside."

While state BJP president Basant Panda denied the charge, party MLA from Padmapur Pradeep Purohit, who is campaigning in the area, said the incident reflected growing resentment against the chief minister.

It is for the first time in Naveen's two-decade long political career that some one hurled a shoe at him. The incident led to tension in the area after the police whisked away the accused.

(With inputs from Subhas Panigrahi in Sambalpur)