Dharmendra Pradhan goes aggressive in Odisha Panchayat Polls

Union P&NG Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who is also tipped to be BJP’s Chief Ministerial candidate in 2019 assembly polls, has gone aggressive in the upcoming panchayat polls in Odisha, which is considered as an acid test for CM Naveen Patnaik and his party Biju Janata Dal (BJD).

After ruling the state for 17 years as an undisputed and invincible leader, Naveen is facing the toughest challenge of his life, thanks to a rejuvenated BJP and determined Dharmendra Pradhan, who does not skip any single opportunity to connect to the people, who are fed up with an indifferent and apathetic leader.

In the first leg of his poll campaign, Dharmendra Pradhan addressed public meetings at various places of Jajpur, Angul, Nayagarh and Khordha districts. He attended the public meetings in Ganjam, Cuttack, Jajpur, Jagatsinghpur and Khordha districts today.

While addressing the public, Dharmendra minced no words to put the BJD Government on back foot. He slammed the 17-year rule by Naveen in Odisha and called him an inefficient and indifferent leader, who does not bother about the plight and concerns of common people. Dharmendra urged the people to use Panchayat Polls 2017 as an opportunity to lodge a strong protest against the government.

A nervous government watched on as Dharmendra Pradhan went to Tarabha to meet the family members of deceased BJP worker Salman Rout, who was killed by OSAP Jawan Byomokesh Biswal, allegedly at the behest of some BJD leaders. Pradhan called for a fair and independent probe to ascertain the truth. He also warned of massive agitation across the state if justice is denied to Salman’s family.

Dharmendra dared Naveen Patnaik in his own den – Ganjam. He asked Naveen to answer why youth of Ganjam still continue to languish in Surat and other parts of the country if his government has done enough for the people in the last 17 years. Undoubtedly, this is a question that would haunt the BJD supremo always. He also raked up the drinking water and irrigation issues in Ganjam, the home district of Odisha CM.

It would be interesting to see whether Dharmendra Pradhan manages to translate the goodwill of the people into votes or not. If we believe the sources, BJP is definitely surging ahead. It may not outwit the BJD, but will certainly make a dent in its base and win much more seats than what it did in 2012.