Ponmudy, who had lost his position following a conviction by the Madras HC in a disproportionate assets case last December, has now resumed his role as the state Minister for Higher Education
The BJP decided not to tie up with Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in Odisha for the Lok Sabha election after the Centre found many schemes of the Modi government have not been reaching the common people, state BJP chief Manmohan Samal said in a post on the microblogging platform X today.
The BJP’s decision came after a big meeting in Delhi, where Odisha BJP leaders convinced central leaders that an alliance with Mr Patnaik’s party would be against the BJP’s interest.
Welcoming the move, BJP leader Aparajita Sarangi posted on X, “Excellent, immensely grateful.”
Excellent.
ImmenselyGrateful. . https://t.co/VjHrR16NBP
— Aparajita Sarangi ( Modi Ka Parivar) (@AprajitaSarangi) March 22, 2024
The BJP going solo in BJD-ruled Odisha was expected, as the party had already indicated it wouldn’t contest the national election together with Mr Patnaik’s party, though there had been speculation about a tie-up for a while in recent weeks.
The only difference now is that the BJP has announced the reason for not joining hands with the BJD.
“For the past 10 years, BJD of Odisha under the leadership of Naveen Patnaik has been supporting the Narendra Modi government in the Centre in many matters of national importance. For this, we express our gratitude to him (Mr Patnaik),” the Odisha BJP chief said.
“But today many welfare schemes of the Modi government are not reaching the ground in Odisha, due to which the people of the state are not getting their benefits. We have concerns on many issues related to Odisha identity, Odisha pride, and interest of the people of Odisha,” Mr Samal said in the post on X in Hindi.
विगत 10 वर्षों से, श्री नवीन पटनायक जी के नेतृत्व में ओडिशा की बीजू जनता दल (बीजेडी) पार्टी केंद्र की माननीय प्रधानमंत्री श्री नरेंद्र मोदी जी की सरकार के अनेक राष्ट्रीय महत्व के प्रसंगों में समर्थन देती आई है, इसके लिए हम उनका आभार व्यक्त करते हैं।
अनुभव में आया है कि देशभर…
— Manmohan Samal (Modi Ka Parivar) (@SamalManmohan7) March 22, 2024
“To fulfil the hopes, wishes and aspirations of 4.5 crore people of Odisha, under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to make a developed India and developed Odisha, the BJP will win all the 21 Lok Sabha and 147 assembly seats. We will contest both Lok Sabha and assembly elections alone,” the state BJP chief said in the post.
In a post in Hindi on X, Sunita Kejriwal said, “Modi-ji got your thrice-elected chief minister arrested due to his arrogance of power and is trying to crush everyone. This is a betrayal with the people of Delhi. Your chief minister has always stood with you. Whether inside (jail) or outside, his life is dedicated to the country. The public is supreme and knows everything. Jai Hind.”