Bhubaneswar. Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s close aide and senior Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader VK Pandian on Tuesday claimed that the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has resorted to “nine self goals” during the ongoing Lok Sabha and Odisha Assembly elections, boosting the regional party’s electoral prospects.
Pandian claimed that the BJP’s self-goals will help the BJD and nobody can stop the regional party from forming the government for the sixth consecutive time. Lok Sabha and assembly elections are being held simultaneously in Odisha. He also claimed that the BJD has secured a majority to form the government in the state by the end of the third phase of the assembly elections and the next and final phase of polling will be held in the BJD stronghold areas.
Pandian claimed that the BJP’s number one “self goal” or “mistake” is to drag the name of Lord Jagannath into political debate and use “abusive language” against Odisha’s “most popular” and five-time chief minister Naveen Patnaik.
He said, “The people of Odisha do not like such words against a respected person like Patnaik.” On another “self-goal”, Pandian said that according to the BJP’s manifesto, Mission Shakti will be “shut down” if it comes to power. They have always conspired against Mission Shakti, which has around 70 lakh women members. This potential action by the BJP has created a “state of panic” among women.
He said that if the BJP comes to power, it will “stop” the benefits of Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY) for the people of Odisha by implementing the Ayushman Bharat scheme. While the Ayushman Bharat scheme is only for people living below the poverty line (BPL), BSKY covers about 90 per cent of the state’s population. “This is the third self-goal of the BJP and the people of Odisha will teach the BJP a lesson in the elections,” Pandian said.