BJP will form double-engine Sarkar in Odisha: Vijaypal Singh Tomar
Deccan ChronicleBhubaneswar: The Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday claimed that it was confident of forming the next government in Odisha by removing the ruling Biju Janata Dal from power. Speaking to reporters after his arrival here at the Biju Patnaik International Airport, the saffron party’s Odisha election in-charge Vijaypal Singh Tomar said the party’s popularity graph in the state was rising and people would vote for a change this time.“Odisha is going to have a double-engine government this time. We are going to win over 16 out of the total 21 Lok Sabha seats in Odisha,” claimed Tomar.As for the reported BJP-BJD bonhomie, Tomar said that the Biju Janata Dal has definitely given the party support in the Parliament several times, but that does not mean the BJP and BJD are friends.He cited, “Former Telangana Chief Minister Chandrashekhar Rao, who is a political rival of BJP, has supported us on many issues and other leaders are supporting us on the basis of issues. Some other leaders are not supporting us.”Tomar made it clear that the BJP will put up a strong fight against the BJD to register resounding victory in Lok Sabha and Odisha Assembly elections.Party’s co-in-charge Lata Usendi who came to Odisha for the first time after assuming the charge for election in Odisha, said, “I came to the land of Lord Jagannath. On Monday, he will meet party functionaries to chalk out strategies for the upcoming Lok Sabha and Assembly elections which will be held simultaneously later this year.In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, BJP won 8 Lok Sabha seats in Odisha.