BHUBANESWAR/ANGUL: The BJD’s Sambalpur Lok Sabha candidate Pranab Prakash Das on Thursday stepped up attack against his BJP counterpart Dharmendra Pradhan and said he has failed to implement any development project despite being a union minister for years.
Posting two photographs on X, one which is stated to be of the Biju Expressway and the other of NH-55, he drew a comparison between the two roads. Das, also the BJD organisational secretary, said the Biju Expressway built by the state government is maintained well while the work on NH-55 is not over even after 10 years though Pradhan is a union minister.
The NH-55 is in a precarious condition and more than 200 people have lost their lives in over 400 accidents in the last five years, he claimed.
On the day, Das intensified his poll campaign in Athamallik and Chhendipada Assembly seats in Angul by addressing two public meetings. Addressing the BJD workers at Turanga in Chhendipada, Das said Odisha has made tremendous progress under the leadership of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik who believes in work not in words.
“Our chief minister talks less and works more. This is the inspiration that the BJD rank and file gets from the chief minister,” he said.
Criticising the BJP, he said the saffron party believes in number games but not in work. Referring to BJP’s LS candidate from Sambalpur Pradhan, Das said in his 10-year tenure as a union minister, he has done nothing for the state and the region. He also cited the bad condition of NH-55 linking Cuttack to Sambalpur and said it was an example of the failure of the union minister.
Das then headed to Antulia in Athamallik. where he met local BJD workers and addressed another public meet. He exhorted party workers to emulate the ideas and good work of CM Naveen. Hundreds of BJD workers attended the two meetings. BJD’s Chhendipada candidate Susanta Behera and Athamallik nominee Nalinikanta Mohanty accompanied Das during his tour of the two Assembly constituencies.
Athamallik and Chhendipada are among the seven Assembly seats which come under the Sambalpur LS constituency. Earlier this month, Das had kick-started his campaign by offering prayers at various temples in the two constituencies.
Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has also visited Chhendipada and Athamallik thrice as part of his poll campaign.