BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik will resume his district visits from Mayurbhanj on October 22 to launch the distribution of Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY) smart cards and attend a couple of other functions.
Mayurbhanj has been chosen as the next destination of the Chief Minister’s visit in the build up to the panchayat polls due to the strong presence of rival BJP. Naveen has already visited five districts so far to launch the smart health cards which will be a major campaign issue of the ruling party.
Sources in the party said that the Chief Minister will visit a majority of the districts within the next one month and may not directly campaign for the party candidates in the panchayat polls. The Chief Minister had also not campaigned for the party candidates in the 2017 elections.
Like this time, the BJD supremo had visited all the 30 districts in November and December in 2016 where he launched many projects, laid the foundation stones, distributed pattas and provided other benefits to the people.
After Mayurbhanj, the Chief Minister is likely to visit several Western and Southern districts before turning his attention to coastal districts where the BJD has a strong base. The Chief Minister is yet to launch the smart health cards in any of the coastal districts.
A senior leader said that as the Chief Minister would have visited all the 30 districts before polls, he is unlikely to address campaign meetings.Meanwhile, observers and district in-charges have already completed holding workers’ meetings in their areas. A senior leader said that the panchayat and block level workers meeting will start from November 1.