The Biju Janata Dal aims to repeat its success in the Berhampur Municipal Corporation through the charisma of its party president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
During his campaign meeting near Ramlingam tank in the city on Monday evening, Mr. Patnaik said “vote for the BJD candidates in the BMC elections and I will take charge of Berhampur’s development. Help me in building this most important city of south Odisha,” he added.
Mr. Patnaik had preferred to campaign in the last phase of campaign period in the BMC area, which is the only municipal corporation of the State going to polls with other urban bodies on September 19. Mr. Patnaik had started his campaign for urban body elections from his home constituency Hinjli in Ganjam district and according to him he would end it in Berhampur.
Mr. Patnaik also conducted a roadshow in different wards of the city for several hours in the afternoon. It was a major show of strength of the BJD in the city as several State ministers, BJD MPs and MLAs who took part in the roadshow and public meeting. They included State Ministers Surya Narayan Patra, Kalpataru Das, Usha Devi, Bikram Keshari Arukh, Rajya Sabha MP Renubala Pradhan, Berhampur MP Siddhant Mohapatra, Aska MP Nityanand Pradhan, several MLAs from different parts of the State including the ones from Gopalpur, Berhampur. The Mayor of Bhubaneswar was also there to rub shoulders with the BJD mayor of Berhampur.
All speakers at the campaign meeting of the BJD harped on a single point -- that Naveen was the catalyst of Odia pride and development and people should vote for BJD due to him.
They also highlighted that due to Mr. Patnaik’s personal interest Berhampur urban body could become a municipal corporation. Mr. Patra, in his speech, claimed that during 2008 elections for the Berhampur urban body, Mr. Patnaik had urged the voters to vote for the BJD so that he could take charge of city’s development and the promise was kept. He accepted that there was much to be done regarding the development of the city which according to him could happen if the BJD could rule the BMC again.
The two MLAs of the city, the Berhampur MLA RCC Patnaik and Gopalpur MLA Pradeep Panigrahy during their address tried to hint to the voters that every vote for the BJD was for Naveen Patnaik.
The Berhampur MLA described the developmental projects fro Berhampur including projects to alleviate drinking water crisis of the city. Gopalpur MLA, Pradeep Panigrahy described the CM as a man who was only for the people of Odisha as he had no living parents or progenies. The BJD has 39 candidates in fray in 40 wards of the BMC. During last two urban body elections in Berhampur, the BJD had a majority.
