Bhubaneswar: Union Home Minister Amit Shah will kick start his poll campaign in Odisha on 25th April. He is scheduled to visit Odisha and address a public meeting at Sonepur town on that day, state BJP vide president Golak Mohapatra informed on Sunday.
He announced that Amit Shah is scheduled to address a large public gathering in Sonepur during the afternoon as part of the party’s election campaign focusing on “Odisha’s pride, women, soil, motherland, and the issue of labor migration affecting the state”. This initiative precedes the Lok Sabha and Vidha Sabha elections commencing on May 13. Following this event, the prominent BJP leader will proceed to Bhubaneswar to discuss election strategies with senior party members. Subsequently, he will return to Delhi after spending the night in Bhubaneswar.
This announcement follows Amit Shah’s recent statement at a conclave, where he emphasized the BJP’s intention to directly confront the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in the upcoming elections, advocating for the preservation of Odia language, culture, and the pride of Odisha. He also urged the people of Odisha to entrust the state’s growth to the BJP under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, highlighting the significant increase in growth rates witnessed in areas where PM Modi’s leadership has prevailed.
The visit to the state is anticipated to uplift the spirits of BJP workers and provide impetus to the party’s campaign against the BJD.
Why he Choose Sonepur ?
Sonepur is falls within the Balangir Lok Sabha constituency, which is scheduled to hold elections alongside Bargarh, Sundargarh, Kandhamal, and Aska on May 20. The nomination process for these constituencies will commence on April 26.
The Balangir Lok Sabha seat encompasses the Kantabanji Assembly segment, where the BJD has nominated its party president and Chief Minister, Naveen Patnaik, in an effort to counter the increasing influence of the BJP in the area. Patnaik faces competition from the incumbent Congress MLA, Santosh Singh Saluja, and the BJP candidate, Laxman Bag, who lost the previous election by a mere 128 votes.
Amit Shah’s campaign in Sonepur could also impact the adjacent Sambalpur Lok Sabha constituency, where Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan is contesting in a direct election after a 15-year interval.