Amit Shah urges Odisha BJP leaders to ensure party's victory in Lok Sabha and assembly polls

Bhubaneswar: Union Home Minister Amit Shah has urged Odisha BJP leaders to dedicate themselves fully for a month to ensure the party's victory in the simultaneous Lok Sabha and assembly polls in the state.

Shah, who held a crucial meeting with BJP leaders of 13 parliamentary constituencies here on Thursday night, urged them to keep their differences aside and work together, party state president Manmohan Samal said after the meeting on Thursday night.

"Odisha needs a healthy, young and Odia-speaking Chief Minister," Bhubaneswar MP Aparajita Sarangi told reporters quoting Shah.

The meeting was attended by the party’s MP candidates from Jajpur, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, Dhenkanal, Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Keonjhar, Bhadrak, Puri, Aska and Brahmapur.

During the meeting, Shah asked party candidates to go door-to-door and meet common people. He assured that the central leadership will provide all possible help to form the BJP government in the state, sources said.

Samal said Shah emphasised on winning all the 21 Lok Sabha seats in the state and getting a majority in the assembly polls to form the next government in Odisha.

"The state government is looting the funds of the central government and everyone should come together and take a decision to realise Modiji’s dream," a leader said quoting Shah.

Justifying his optimism regarding BJP's prospects in Odisha, Shah pointed out that the party's vote share ranged from 32 to 34 per cent, which he deemed sufficient for growth and governance in the state.

The meeting was also attended by BJP in-charge Sunil Bansal, BJP election in-charge Vijay Pal Singh Tomar, former president Samir Mohanty, MLA Mohan Majhi, woman leader Prabhati Parida, among others.