BHUBANESWAR: Even though BJP has decided to take the help of chief ministers of the two neighbouring states, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, Raman Singh and Raghubar Das respectively to campaign for the party candidates in the five-phase panchayat polls, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is unlikely to campaign.
Sources in the BJD said the Chief Minister is likely to visit Hinjili, his assembly constituency, during the campaigning period. But he is unlikely to visit other places.
The Chief Minister has already visited all the 30 districts in November and December where he launched many programmes, laid the foundation stone for many projects, distributing pattas and providing other benefits to the people.
"As Chief Minister has already covered the entire state before the panchayat election was announced, he is not likely to campaign again for the party candidates," a senior leader said. He, however, said the Chief Minister is likely to visit Hinjili once to request the people to vote for BJD candidates.
Meanwhile, Congress has criticised the violence perpetrated allegedly by BJD activists in several parts of the state. In a memorandum submitted today, the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) urged the State Election Commission (SEC) to take immediate steps to ensure a free and fair election.
Stating that violence has taken place in several parts of Odisha including Tarbha in Dhenkanal district, Bankual in Khurda district and Chandanpur in Puri district, a Congress delegation including
Sivananda Ray, Sidhartha Mohanty and Girija Shankar Dash which submitted the memorandum alleged that BJD will lose if free and fair election would be held.
The memorandum alleged that despite repeated complaints, freebies are being distributed by district officials in Puri district to influence the voters. The Congress leaders alleged that most of
the block offices and lower level officials are behaving like agents of BJD.
They alleged that such offices are functioning as BJD party office and requested the SEC to take immediate corrective measures.