KENDRAPARA: Ahead of the election to Patkura Assembly seat, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik visited the famous Baladevjew temple at Ichhapur in Kendrapara town here on Monday evening.
The Chief Minister’s visit to the shrine came on the occasion of the auspicious Snana Purnima.
He was accompanied by several BJD Ministers, MLAs, and the ruling party candidate from Patkura Sabitri Agrawalla.
This is the second visit of Naveen to the temple in two months. His earlier visit to the temple was on April 24 during campaigning for the General Elections.
Naveen said, “I visited Baladevjew temple to seek blessings of the Lord.”
During his visit, the Chief Minister announced projects worth Rs 2 crore for Baladevjew temple which includes construction of a kalyan mandap, wall on the north side of the shrine, a lavatory near the marriage mandap and a deep well.
Besides, 24X7 water supply will also be started with the construction of an overhead tank.
Kendrapara BJD MLA Sashibhusan Behera said the Chief Minster’s visit to the temple was in no way connected to Patkura polls.
However, locals believe that Naveen visited the temple to woo voters in favour of BJD candidate Sabitri Agrawalla.
“This is the first time the Chief Minister visited the shrine on Snana Purnima during his nearly two-decade-long rule. There is a whiff of politics in his visit,” said Amarbar Biswal, a social worker of Kendrapara.
Election to Patkura Assembly seat was deferred twice, first due to the death of BJD candidate Bed Prakash Agrawalla and later due to extremely severe cyclone Fani.
Following Bed’s death, the ruling party nominated his wife Sabitri from the seat hoping to cash in on the sympathy wave.
Sabitri will be contesting against veteran leader and BJP candidate Bijay Mohapatra and newcomer Jayant Mohanty of Congress.
The election is a prestige battle for both the BJP and BJD as Mohapatra, a senior leader and bete noire of Naveen, is contesting from seat.
In 2000 polls, BJD supremo Naveen had prevented Mohapatra to contest from Patkura by denying him party ticket at the last moment.
In 2004, BJD’s Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak defeated Mohapatra who was fighting the polls on a Odisha Gana Parishad ticket.
Mohapatra unsuccessfully contested the 2009 polls from Patkura against Bed. In 2014, Nayak again defeated Mohapatra from Mahakalapada Assembly seat.
While the Election Commission is yet to announce the election date, the candidates have intensified campaigning in Patkura.