JAGATSINGHPUR: Union Minister of State for Rural Development Ram Kripal Yadav has sought the support of Yadav community to bring the BJP to power in the panchayat elections.
Kripal, who embarked on a marathon election rally and road show at Raghunathpur, Tirtol, Kujang and Ersama in the district, interacted with the people of Yadav community at Harishpur, where hundreds of members of the community gave him a warm welcome. The villagers apprised him about their grievances and lack of development in their area.
Addressing the gathering, Kripal said there is a sizeable population of Yadavs in Odisha, West Bengal and Bihar and called upon them to be united for their development.
Stating that the Yadavs have been neglected during the rule of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, he urged the community members to vote wisely and enjoy the benefits of development under the BJP.
At a meeting in Tirtol, he criticised Odisha Government for its failure on all fronts and appealed to the voters to vote in favour of the BJP candidates in the panchayat election. Kripal took a jibe at Naveen for hijacking all the Central-sponsored welfare programmes.
Describing the BJD Government as corrupt, he called on the voters to give the BJP candidates a chance to help change the future of the people.
Meanwhile, internal conflict in the BJP was exposed during the visit of the Union Minister as rebel BJP groups boycotted his programmes. Out of four zones, Zilla Parishad candidates of Zone 3 did not attend the meeting.
Ashok Mohanty, a BJD leader who joined the BJP recently, is yet to be fully accepted by the party. Mohanty has fielded his candidates in Zone 3 in Tirtol block resulting in a conflict in the block.
Local BJP leaders Upendra Biswal, Sudhir Panda and Chittaranjan Kans accompanied Kripal.