Patnaik asks BJD to perk up, not lose heart over poll losses

Odisha Chief Minister and BJD President Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday asked the party legislators not to get disheartened with the dismal performance of the party in some districts in the panchayat polls in the state.

"One should not be disheartened by the reverses. Our party has returned as number one party in the state and the opposition is far behind," said Patnaik at the BJD legislative party meeting in the state assembly.

"So, the underlying message is that people don't want change, they want you to perform even better in the areas where you have not met the expectations of the people and the grassroot-level workers," he added.

The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) chief said the party leaders should take the signal as a wake-up call and get reconnected to the people and workers at the grassroots.

Even though the results for Zila Parishad zones would be officially declared on February 25, the poll trends show that the seat share of the ruling party has decreased significantly compared to 2012 panchayat polls.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has put on an impressive show in the panchayat elections.

"I am not happy with certain hon'ble MLAs, who could not do well in the elections. I am seriously concerned about the poor performance of the party in certain districts. There may be certain specific reasons for the failure, which need to be seriously introspected," said Patnaik.

He also congratulated the leaders and the party workers, who had put in relentless efforts to achieve success in other districts.

Accusing Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh of misleading people by giving false information on Mahanadi water issue, Patnaik said the fight for Mahanadi waters is beyond political and electoral interest and it would continue.

--IANS

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