Bhubaneswar: BJP president Amit Shah's much-talked about "Mission 120" having taken a hit in the state in the wake of Bijepur bypoll debacle, the party now appears to be adopting a more pragmatic approach with focus on consolidating its base in west Odisha, the region most of its MLAs come from.

The change in party's strategy was visible last month when the party president toured the state for two days addressing public meetings in Kalahandi and Balangir.

"They are politically sensitive areas and appear to have been carefully chosen for Shah's programmes on April 4 and 5," said a party leader.

Sources in the BJP said having made a frank assessment of the party's organisational strength in the state, Shah, too, seems to have realised that it would be more prudent to try and strengthen the party's base in west Odisha where it stands a much better chance than the rest of the state.

Eight of the party's 10 MLAs hail from this belt where it had made its forays in the mid-1980s.

While it had opened its account in the Assembly in 1985 by winning the Kamakhya Nagar seat, its tally went up in 1990 when it bagged Junagarh and Bonei seats by increasing its overall share of votes from 1.5 to 3.56 per cent.

Party's national secretary and former state unit chief Suresh Pujari said: "There is no doubt we have a strong base in west Odisha. We are also strong in the tribal belt of the state. So, focusing on the western belt is the correct for us strategy to follow in the context of our mission to win more than 120 seats in the Assembly."

Pujari admitted that the party was comparatively weak in the coastal belt but asserted that it had an expanded base in coastal districts such as Balasore and Bhadrak.

"However, for us to be successful, there is the urgent need for micro planning at the constituency level," he said.

BJD secretary Bijay Nayak asserted that BJP's strategic focus on west Odisha was unlikely to yield dividends for the party.

"The Mahanadi water sharing dispute with Chhattisgarh is the biggest issue of the region at the moment and the BJP's role in this remains suspect as the neighbouring state has a government led by their party. As for the BJD, our base in west Odisha has become stronger since our victory in the Bijepur bypoll," said Nayak.