Bhubaneswar: Senior BJP leader and Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Saturday made a surprising claim that Odisha might go to polls early this time before schedule.
“I am hearing that Odisha will go to poll early this time before the schedule. Elections are far away. By the day, a lot of water will pass through Mahanadi, Brahmani, and Baitarani. Parties emerge as rivals in the poll battle. Every party reaches out to the people with their respective agendas. It is up to the people to whom they accept,” he said while speaking to reporters for the first time after his party lost the by-poll in Padampur to the ruling BJD by a margin of over 42,000.
“We had fought in the 2019 elections and now we emerged as the principal Opposition party in Odisha,” the Minister added.
“I believe that people have immense faith in Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the development of the State,” he continued.
Speaking on the Padampur results, Pradhan said “We have not yielded the results as we expected. But, we respect the people’s mandate.”
On BJD’s allegations of disrespect to women, Pradhan said the BJP had bagged 78,000 votes. Is not any woman vote in these,” he asked.
Assembly elections are usually held in Odisha simultaneously with the Lok Sabha polls. As per the rules, the chief minister can also opt to go for snap elections.
