BJD Condemns Chief Minister’s Election Campaign in Nuapada Amidst Grave State Situation

•  Double-engine government has not laid even a single brick in Nuapada
•  ₹1100 crore worth of election sops announced just two hours before the imposition of Model Code of Conduct.
•  Projects of Shri Naveen Patnaik government rebranded and inaugurated afresh

Bhubaneswar, 06/10/2025: While Cuttack is witnessing a disturbing situation, Gajapati district faces landslide crisis, a Rs. 200-crore Police SI recruitment scam has rocked the state, five districts are reeling under heavy rain-induced devastation, and law and order has completely collapsed, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has strongly condemned the Chief Minister’s tour to campaign in Nuapada instead of addressing the grave crisis across Odisha.
Addressing a press conference at Sankha Bhawan, BJD Vice President Shri Sanjay Kumar Das Burma, Biju Mahila Janata Dal President Smt. Snehangini Chhuria, and Jaleswar MLA Shri Ashwini Kumar Patra slammed the Chief Minister for announcing projects worth Rs. 1100 crore in Nuapada barely two hours before the imposition of Election Code of Conduct, calling it unfortunate.
Shri Das Burma said that an unprecedented situation has emerged in Cuttack, the “city of brotherhood,” under the double-engine government. The pride of Cuttack, a 1,000-year-old historic and cultural capital of Odisha, has been tarnished due to communal riot. The State Government has completely failed to control the crisis. Similarly, the administration’s carelessness attitude toward recurring landslides in Gajapati district is deeply concerning. The government has also failed to respond to widespread flood damage in five districts of Odisha due to heavy rainfall. Above all, the Police SI recruitment scam, in which jobs were allegedly sold with government support, has shaken the conscience of Odisha’s youth. In such a situation, the Chief Minister’s election campaign in Nuapada shows his insensitivity and detachment from the suffering of the people.
Smt. Snehangini Chhuria said that the Chief Minister inaugurated 108 projects worth Rs. 64 crore, all of which had been constructed under former Chief Minister Shri Naveen Patnaik’s tenure. The double Engine Government merely repainted and inaugurated them. She pointed out that Sinapali was earlier declared as an NAC (Notified Area Council) by Shri Naveen Patnaik himself. It is now politically suspicious that the BJP government removed Sinapali’s name from the first phase list and then reincluded it now for electoral gain. She further revealed that the “Jhia Pain Gachha Tie” program, inaugurated today, was originally launched by Shri Naveen Patnaik in April 2023. Similarly, the declaration of “Single Use Plastic Free Nuapada District” had already been made during the BJD government in 2019.
Since 1993, when legendary leader Biju Patnaik declared Nuapada as a district, it has always been remained in focus for the Biju Janata Dal.
However, in the last 16 months, the BJP government has not even laid a single brick in Nuapada. The Chief Minister’s sudden visit to the district right before announcement of the bye-election is clearly a politically motivated attempt to mislead the people of Nuapada.
Similarly, MLA Ashwini Kumar Patra said that while the people of Odisha are suffering from devastation due to heavy rain induced floods, the Chief Minister remains busy with election campaigning in Nuapada. Despite widespread damage across Northern Odisha due to continuous heavy rainfall, the Chief Minister has failed to address the matter seriously, which is deeply irresponsible.