Amit Shah aims to win big in Odisha in next LS polls

amit-shah-delhi-pti BJP president Amit Shah at the concluding session of the national executive committee meeting in New Delhi | PTI

Continuing with the party's 'look east' policy, BJP chief Amit Shah will visit Odisha on Sunday to hold meetings with party cadre.

Amit Shah has already visited West Bengal, and is currently in Manipur.

After the Karnataka elections, the BJP chief has restarted his visits to the states to ramp up the organisational structure ahead of the 2019 elections. Key features of Shah's visits include meeting with all the elected representatives, including MPs, MLAs and councillors, holding a meeting the intellectuals of the state, addressing the cadre, and finally a meeting with the social media volunteers and influencers.

The BJP's focus on Odisha was also visible from the fact that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had chosen Cuttack to address his government anniversary rally on May 26.

Odisha's assembly elections will be held simultaneously with Lok Sabha polls. Chief Minister Navin Patnaik had bucked the national trend as his party won 20 out of the 21 Lok Sabha seats, and the BJP could only manage to win Sundergarh from where Jual Oram was elected.

The BJP feels that this time it is better placed to win more seats in the state, in both assembly and the Lok Sabha elections. The saffron party is eyeing Lok Sabha seats in Odisha, West Bengal and Northeast to compensate for the loss of seats in the Hindi heartland. These together account for 88 Lok Sabha seats.

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