In last leg, BJP-BJD war of words revolves around VK Pandian

Addressing a rally Tuesday at Chandbali, under Bhadrak parliamentary constituency, Shah accused Patnaik of trying to impose a Tamil CM on Odisha. Pandian is Patnaik’s close aide.

Referring to the Kalinga War of the third century BCE, Shah said, “Odisha had fought against Samrat Ashoka for its swabhiman (self-respect). Many Odias sacrificed their lives, but didn’t bend.”

“Today, however, Naveen Patnaik is trying to impose a Tamil CM on Odisha. Naveen Babu, we have tolerated you, but we can’t tolerate a babu in your name,” he said.

Odisha is holding Lok Sabha and state Assembly elections simultaneously. The election, Shah said, is about Odia Asmita.

“Will you agree if a Tamil babu runs the government from behind the scenes? If you vote for BJP, a jan sevak (people’s servant) will rule the state instead of a babu,” he said on his last day of campaigning in the state.

Expressing confidence that CM Patnaik would become ex-CM after June 4, Shah said, “Odisha’s new CM will be someone who can speak Odia, a young CM, someone who is a devotee of Lord Jagannath.”

On the same day, Pandian said at an interaction with the media in Bhubaneswar that among the many “self-goals” scored by the BJP, the first one was the accusations raised by the party regarding the Ratna Bhandar (treasure trove) of the famed Jagannath Temple in Puri, in which CM Patnaik’s and Pandian’s names were dragged in. “The people of Odisha do not appreciate these words,” said Pandian. He also said that by the end of the third phase, the BJD had already secured a majority to form the government in the state.

He also said that people were apprehensive about communal harmony in the state being disturbed if the BJP came to power. “The people of Odisha remember Kandhamal (where communal violence took place in 2008) and other places where communal harmony was disturbed,” Pandian said.