BHUBANESWAR: Chief minister and BJD president Naveen Patnaik on Monday announced that his party will not hold any rally for the Pipili byelection, which has been rescheduled to May 13, following the death of Congress candidate Ajit Mangaraj to avoid putting people’s life at risk of Covid-19.
Day after Rahul Gandhi suspended his rallies in West Bengal owing to the pandemic and Trinamool Congress announced that CM Mamata Banerjee won’t hold more rallies in Kolkata, Naveen tweeted, “Every life is precious and I always consider people of #Odisha as my family members. In this extremely serious #COVID19 situation amidst surge in cases in the country, @bjd_odisha has decided not to hold any public rallies or campaign meetings in Pipili bypoll.”
“BJD as a responsible party will not like to put the lives of people in danger. We contest elections to serve people. If the campaign has potential to endanger lives, I would earnestly appeal to political parties & @ECISVEEP (Election Commission of India handle for voters’ awareness) to reconsider both the duration & method of campaigning,” his tweet further read. “India is a mature democracy and together we can come out with a solution. Democracy is by the people, for the people and of the people. Jai Hind,” he wrote.
State BJP president Samir Mohanty said his party will abide by the ECI guidelines and strictly follow Covid-appropriate behaviour. “I won’t comment on what Naveen does as BJD president. However, we will go by ECI advice in every election and won’t put any life at risk. The ongoing pandemic is a matter of concern for everyone and all must come together to fight against it,” he added.
Senior Congress leader Narasingha Mishra welcomed Naveen’s move. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi should learn from leaders like Rahul Gandhi and Naveen Patnaik. The Congress party in Odisha will take a considered stand in case of Pipili and won’t endanger any life,” Narasingha said.
The bypoll, necessitated due to the death of sitting BJD MLA Pradeep Maharathy to Covid, was originally scheduled to be held on April 17. The ECI rescheduled it after the Congress MLA candidate also died of Covid. Earlier, Naveen had addressed the people of Pipili, who had gathered at six different places, virtually even as most of his ministers and MLAs had camped themselves in the constituency.