BJP in Odisha, very soon, claims party chief JP Nadda

File photo

New Delhi: BJP President JP Nadda on Saturday claimed that Odisha will soon have a BJP government, his remark came during an address to the state`s state executive meeting through video conference.

"The day is not far when we will come there in the government very soon," he said.

Stressing the "steady" progress of BJP in the eastern state, he said, in 2014 Vidhan Sabha, BJP had received 18 per cent votes, while in 2019, it rose to 32 per cent. "We need to aim for over 50 per cent votes in the state," he told the executive attendees.

Listing the party`s progress in Odisha, he said, "We are happy that in the Lok Sabha elections we got around one crore votes here. In the same manner, today we have increased our sphere of influence in the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes where there are 33 seats."

Making his pitch to Odias, Nadda claimed that BJP workers in Odisha have distributed nearly 7 lakh ration kits, 60,000 sanitizers, 5.5 lakh masks and food packets during the past few months.

Taking a dig at the BJD government in the state, he alleged, "I`m saddened that we`ve not been allowed to implement the Ayushman Bharat in Odisha. There are 2.4 crore people who could`ve benefited from the Rs 5 lakh medical coverage." He added saying, "I call upon CM Shri Naveen Patnaik to allow PM Modi`s scheme to reach the poor and needy."

He went on with his offensive while claiming statistics show people from Odisha come to Delhi for treatment. Now they can get treated at Bhubaneswar AIIMS, for which credit goes to former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee and PM Narendra Modi, he added.

While making its political goal in Naveen Patnaik`s Odisha clear at the outset, Nadda also stressed on PM`s "able handling" of the pandemic situation in India as well as the array of economic packages including `Aatmanirbhar Package` to balance life and livelihood concerns.

"Street vendors have been provided an easy loan facility worth Rs 10,000 to help them re-start their businesses after the lockdown. Migrant workers who have returned home, too, have been provided employment opportunities," he remarked.

He urged all BJP cadres to go to people and educate them about the key points of new ambitious National Education Policy.