JHARSUGUDA: In a bid to wrest the Brajrajnagar Assembly seat from BJD, the BJP and Congress went all guns blazing to woo voters during campaigning which came to an end on Sunday. From the start, the BJP made the Mahanadi river issue its major poll plank for the by-election.
At a public meeting held at Sukhasada in Lakhanpur block, the place where Mahanadi enters Odisha, BJP Krushak Morcha president Pradeep Purohit accused the CM of failing to deliver on his promises. “While announcing the Mahanadi Bachao Abhiyan in May 2018, the CM had assured to ensure the conservation of the river. Four years have passed and the promises are still unfulfilled,” he said.
Purohit reminded people that the CM had promised to build barrages on the river to facilitate irrigation, fishing, and drinking water but the promise is yet to be fulfilled. Earlier, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had raised the issue during his visit to Brajrajnagar recently. Similarly, Congress targeted BJD over the never-ending problem of relocation and rehabilitation of people displaced in Lakhanpur.
The ruling BJD, on the other hand, hopes to retain the seat by highlighting the pro-people schemes of party supremo and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. As the political parties race to win over voters, employment remains the key issue for the youths of Brajrajnagar. Revival of the Orient Paper Mill is another poll plank of the three parties. The mill has been lying defunct for the last around three decades.
Attacking BJD for failing to revive the mill in the last 20 years, Congress claimed that it will bring the factory back to life if voted to power in Brajrajnagar. In retaliation, the BJD blamed Congress for the situation saying the Orient Paper Mill problem started during the rule of the grand old party.
To counter the growing influence of the BJP in the region, the BJD and Congress have raised the issue of spiralling prices of fuel and foodgrains in the country.