Naveen Patnaik’s second seat is for his political heir: Amit Shah to workers
BHUBANESWAR: In a confidence building measure for the BJP leaders and workers, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday said the saffron party is going to form its first government in Odisha and a young dynamic Odia will be the chief minister.
Interacting with Assembly and Lok Sabha candidates of 13 parliamentary constituencies, election in charges, state and district functionaries at a convention centre near Cuttack-Puri by-pass road, Shah said he could clearly see that this is a golden time for the BJP to come to power in the state.
The BJP had only three per cent vote share in Assam and 1.5 per cent in Tripura. If it could form government in both the states with absolute majority, why not in Odisha where the vote share of the party is in the range of 32 to 38 per cent in Assembly and Lok Sabha respectively, he wondered.
In 1990, the BJP was in the same footing as far as the vote percentage in Odisha and Gujarat was concerned. The party is in power in Gujarat for the last 23 years. It was possible due to the sheer determination of party workers, he said.
“Nothing is impossible if we have a target and determination to win elections. Do not listen what your opponents are saying because their main job is to confuse and deviate you from achieving your goal,” he said.
Exuding confidence that the party will do exceedingly well both in Assembly and Lok Sabha elections, Shah said, “Just wait for June 4. I will come to Odisha the day BJP government takes oath. A young, healthy and dynamic Odia leader will be the first chief minister of BJP in the state,” he reportedly said.
Acknowledging that there is still confusion in the minds of some leaders and workers of the party about the ‘friendly relationship’ of the BJP with BJD, Shah said nothing is above party interests. That was the exact reason f the leadership bowed before the demands of the party workers who were against the proposed alliance with the regional party.
On Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s decision to contest from two Assembly seats, the Chanakya of Indian politics said if BJP workers thought the BJD supremo opted for a second seat with the fear of losing the election, then they are wrong.
“My reading is that he is going to elect his political heir through back door policy. He will leave one seat for the man of his choice and get him elected to the Assembly to stem any rebellion with the party,” he said. Supposed to make a night halt in Bhubaneswar, Shah left for Bhopal after the meeting was over.