Bhubaneswar, June 11: The reconstituted Odisha state executive of the BJP, which met here today, welcomed the appointment of Narendra Modi as the party’s campaign committee chairman, and announced that the party would contest the 2014 elections in the state on its own.
Party spokesperson Suresh Pujari announced that the Gujarat chief minister would visit Odisha in October. Reacting to Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik’s statement that Modi was not acceptable at the national level, he said Naveen was toeing the Congress line in view of his involvement in the coal scam.
Pujari said the state executive, through a resolution, had urged L.K. Advani to withdraw his resignation in the “larger interest of the party and the nation”.
The party’s state president K.V. Singhdeo reiterated his earlier stand that it would contest all 147 Assembly seats and 21 Lok Sabha seats alone.
There were speculations that the central party leaders might forge an understanding with BJD rebel leader Pyari Mohan Mohapatra. At a function organised by Odisha Jana Morcha president, BJP leader Chandan Mitra, who is in charge of the party affairs in the state, was chief guest.
Mohapatra had said he had held discussions with the BJP central leadership for forging an alliance and he had received “positive response”. Mitra too had given indication by saying that the central leadership “would take a final call on the matter”.
“It’s true that Mohapatra had met party president Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari had broached the topic. But the party president has authorised the state unit to decide how to fight the coming polls. We are firm on our resolve to face the elections on our own,” said Pujari. Targeting both the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre and the BJD government in the state, the state executive said there was a race between the two to get the first prize in corruption. “Both are joint winners,” said a party leader.
“The UPA government is facing Commonwealth Games, 2-G Spectrum and Coalgate scams, and the Naveen Patnaik government has looted natural resources of the state. Even the poorest have not been spared. Twenty lakh families of the state have been affected by the chit fund fraud,” the party resolution said.
Naveen was holding the Swabhiman Samavesh at Delhi to divert public attention from the deposit companies scam, it said. Pujari demanded an investigation into the scam by the Special Investigating Agency under supervision of the Supreme Court.
The party will launch a state-wide agitation against corruption and failures of both governments on June 24 and June 25.