In Odisha, Fight Is Between 'Two Flowers And 2 Conches': Pradhan

While BJD’s poll symbol is the conch (Sankha), it is the lotus flower for the BJP. 

The “Duiti Phoola Bahut Bhala” (two flowers mean greater good) slogan was given by Pradhan, the BJP candidate in the Sambalpur Lok Sabha seat, at an election rally at Athamallik.   

Last week, the BJD released a video in which Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik asked people to vote for the party and displayed two conch symbols - one for the Lok Sabha election and another for the assembly polls.

At the election rally on Monday, Pradhan too showed two lotuses and appealed to people to cast their votes for the symbol.

Initially, the BJD had coined the “Jodi Sankha” slogan to counter BJP leaders' call for the “double engine sarkar”.

While speaking to reporters after the meeting, Pradhan said Prime Minister Narendra Modi in an interview has made the party’s stand clear that the BJP will fight the polls in the state over the issue of “Odia Asmita” (Odisha pride).

“The Prime Minister has set the context for the polls by rightly pointing out that Odisha’s identity and language is under threat,” Pradhan said.

This election rally was not only about change but also about pride and development of the state, he said.

Reiterating Modi’s statement, Pradhan said Odisha is rich in mineral and water resources, besides having fertile land and forest resources.

Despite this, the state is lagging behind other states in almost all sectors, he claimed.

“The corruption is at its zenith and everything is in a mess in the state,” he alleged.

Pradhan also came down heavily on the BJD government alleging that there is no proper system of governance in Odisha. 

“Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is on a video and the remote of the video is in the hands of another man... Officers, drawing salaries from people’s hard-earned money, are now at the helm. They need to be ousted,” the Union minister said.

Pradhan claimed that the wind of change is clearly visible across the state.

“Sankha has been damaged and it can no longer be blown,” he said.