BHUBANESWAR: On the eve of his fourth anniversary as India’s Prime Minister,
Narendra Modi supporters in the state have a new slogan — Modinka yojna re, Odisha aga re. The message of the words, which literally translate into ‘Odisha is at the forefront of Modi’s schemes’, is loud and clear: Modi is set to emerge winner in the state, come 2019.
On Saturday Modi will arrive in Cuttack and, as if to cement his ties with eastern India, address a public meeting there.
The fact that the party chose Odisha as the stage to celebrate a day of significance justifies the high hopes BJP has here. From a distant third position in the 2014
Lok Sabha and state assembly polls, BJP has managed to emerge as the principal challenger to Naveen Patnaik’s
Biju Janata Dal (BJD), as was reflected in the panchayat election last year and the Bijepur assembly bypoll in February.
Battle lines are now firmly drawn between BJP and BJD, estranged allies who shared power for two terms in the state from 2000 to 2009. With
Congress making a renewed effort under its new chief
Rahul Gandhi, 2019 looks to be critical enough for the PM’s presence. Addressing a news conference here on Friday, BJP spokesperson
Sambit Patra said Modi government’s achievement in the past four years is more than what Congress has done in over 50 years. BJP aspires to up its Lok Sabha tally from a state where it had won only one out of 21 seats —
Jual Oram from Sundargarh.
