Odisha: BJD Conducts high-level meeting ahead of elections

Odisha Minister and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader Pratap Keshari Deb announced on Saturday that a high-level BJD meeting, chaired by party president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, took place on Friday to discuss the upcoming elections. Deb mentioned that various aspects, including media reports and rumors, were deliberated during the meeting.

Deb further mentioned that the party reached unanimous decisions in the interest of the state, emphasizing the importance of collective decision-making within the party.

In a setback for the ruling BJD just before the simultaneous Lok Sabha and assembly elections in Odisha, popular Odia actor-turned-politician Arindam Roy joined the BJP. Roy cited being sidelined by the BJD and denied access to meet Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik despite repeated attempts.

Roy, along with other BJD leaders, officially joined the BJP at the party headquarters in Bhubaneswar on Friday.

Additionally, BJP national vice president M Chuba Ao accused the BJD administration in Odisha of wrongly claiming credit for central government schemes and misleading the public by presenting them as state initiatives.

Odisha has 21 parliamentary constituencies. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the BJD secured the most seats, followed by the BJP and the Congress. Similarly, in the state’s 147 Assembly constituencies, the BJD dominated in the last polls, while the BJP and Congress held smaller shares.