NUAPADA: Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi led a massive roadshow through the heart of Nuapada and addressed a public meeting at Khariar Road on Saturday evening.
The show of strength by BJP came a day after BJD president and Leader of Opposition Naveen Patnaik’s rally, setting the stage for a fierce contest ahead of polling on November 11.
Addressing the voters of Nuapada, CM Majhi said, “People of Odisha had trusted the BJD with the state’s progress for 24 years, expecting development of tribals, dalits, women, and youths. But these aspirations were never addressed by the BJD president.”
Taking a swipe at Naveen, he said the opposition leader came to Nuapada in a massive campaign bus yet no one accompanied him. Even the BJD candidate followed behind in another vehicle. That, in itself, shows the difference in leadership ideology.
Questioning the BJD’s claim of empowering women through Mission Shakti, Majhi said the party could not find a local woman, tribal, or youth leader from Nuapada to contest the bypoll. “Instead, it brought a woman leader from another district who boasts of her maternal uncle’s home connection here to hide her outsider tag,” he remarked.
Calling upon voters to make the right choice for continuity in development, the CM endorsed Jay Dholakia as the only candidate capable of carrying forward his father Rajendra Dholakia’s vision for Nuapada. “Many leaders will leave tomorrow. But after they are gone, only two persons will stay with you in your happiness and sorrow, Jay Dholakia and Mohan Majhi,” he asserted.
Recalling his long association with late Rajendra Dholakia, the CM said, “When I attended Raju babu’s funeral, most of the people present there were BJD workers who turned pale on seeing me. They realised that they can no longer deceive people through sympathy. For the BJD, it is all just a political game. But for us, relationships go beyond party lines.”
Earlier in the day, the CM visited the Sunadei temple within the Sunabeda wildlife sanctuary and interacted with the local tribal families.