Sitharaman’s ‘Amrit Kalash Yatra’ message for Odisha BJP
Some party workers were expecting pact with BJD ahead of next polls
Published: 19th August 2023 11:47 AM | Last Updated: 19th August 2023 11:47 AM | A+A A-
A hoarding on Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s visit to the state at Bhubaneswar airport | DEBADATTA MALLICK
BHUBANESWAR: Even as the ‘secret’ meeting between Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in Lokseva Bhawan is still haunting leaders of BJP, the two-day visit of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to the state has come as a relief to the ‘doubting Thomases’ who were awaiting a possible pact with the BJD for a friendly fight in the next general elections.
Though Sitharaman said nothing political against the BJD government at any of the events during her two-day stay, she struck the right chord with the party workers and public during the ‘Amrit Kalash Yatra’ she launched at Biraharekrushnapur, the village of Jayee Rajguru, the first freedom fighter from Odisha to attain martyrdom while fighting against British Raj.
“No doubt she had come here on the invitation of the Indian Chartered Accounts Institute (ICAI) to inaugurate the institute’s three-day national conference but the Amrit Kalash Yatra was meticulously planned to send out a message that the BJP is preparing the ground for the next elections,” said senior BJP leader Sudipta Ray.
After the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ campaign, ‘Meri Mati Mera Desh’ is the other mass outreach programme of the party which will continue till August 30. The aim of the party is to spread its reach and further strengthen its organisation in rural areas by giving the people a feeling that the BJP honours the unsung heroes who lost their lives for the country, said BJP OBC Morcha president Surath Biswal.
By launching the programme, Sitharaman, who holds two important portfolios in Prime Minister Narendra Modi cabinet and is all set to create a record of being the first woman leader to complete a full five-year term as Finance Minister of India, in the presence of Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, prospective candidate for Puri Lok Sabha seat Sambit Patra and two BJP MLAs from the district has sent out a positive message to party workers across the state, Ray added.
He said there is no more confusion in the minds of party workers after Shah categorically told state leaders including MLAs and MPs to launch agitational programmes against the BJD government starting from panchayats. Besides, two more union ministers Bhupender Yadav and Arjun Munda have gone on record saying there will be a direct fight with the BJD in the next elections.
