BHUBANESWAR: With Covid-19 playing a spoilsport and the State Election Commission restricting political gatherings, the going may be tough for the Opposition to take on a mighty BJD in the upcoming panchayat elections.
The series of cash assistance packages covering cross-sections of the rural voters announced by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik ahead of the polls have put the Opposition parties in a difficult situation. Both BJP and Congress are still figuring out their strategies on how to deal with the challenges thrown by the BJD.
After a two-day intensive churning of the state BJP leadership with district functionaries, the saffron party decided to go to the people with issues over which it had launched state-wide agitation last year. “Failure of the state government in providing 27 per cent reservation to OBCs who constitute over 52 pc of the population will top the agenda. The increase in the upper age limit for entry into government jobs will have a bearing on a large number of unemployed youths in the state,” said state BJP president Samir Mohanty.
The rural housing scam and large scale irregularities in paddy procurement after the introduction of the online token system are the other issues that will be highlighted, he said.“In every village, there are people in the permanent waitlist for getting housing assistance under PMAY but their wait continues for years as their share of benefits is going to well-off people who are connected with local BJD leaders,” he alleged.
Corruption will also be the major issue of the BJP. “People are fed up with the BJD as panchayats and block offices have become the den of corruption,” Mohanty said and added that the Chief Minister is aware that the wind is not blowing in favour of the BJD and hence, the cash enticements. A senior Congress leader on condition of anonymity said that the BJD has an edge over its rivals with direct cash assistance to almost all sections of the rural voters.