BJP's Panda won Kendrapara seat in 2009 and 2014 on BJD ticket. Mohanty, BJD candidate against Panda, is son of Biju Patnaik aide who was expelled by Naveen in 2001.
Though many former IPS officers have tried luck in polls, the numbers are relatively less when it comes to police commissioners taking this route. BJD's Arup Patnaik is one of them.
BJP state chief Manmohan Samal announces party will fight alone in all 21 Lok Sabha & 147 assembly seats. Earlier this week, Amit Shah had dropped hints that the BJP could go solo.
But, a BJP leader contends that tie-up will give space to Congress for growing as opposition. Adds that by not joining hands, party can get a shot to form govt in Odisha in future.
BJD’s decision comes days after PM Narendra Modi, at an event in Odisha, called CM Naveen Patnaik a 'friend'. BJP is the principal Opposition party in Odisha, which is headed for polls this year.
In March this year, BJP’s Jayanarayan Mishra said that many schools in Odisha do not have adequate teachers & students can't identify Odia alphabets, but the govt is busy painting school buildings in Pakistani colours.
For a regional party, it's impossible to continuously bicker & fight with Centre & survive as model fiscal state, says Pinaki Misra. Asserts people will decide on PM's Manipur stand.
Rs 4000 cr 'Ama Odisha, Nabin Odisha' scheme aims to protect places of worship, develop rural infrastructure & preserve local heritage & has been termed 'poll gimmick' by the Opposition.
TMC has skipped all meetings of Opposition parties called by Congress during ongoing Budget session of Parliament, choosing instead to hold its own protests on various issues.
I was surprised when Andhra Pradesh minister Nara Lokesh and Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan advocated for Hindi—at a time when states like Tamil Nadu and Karnataka have been opposing its imposition.
Mini deal will likely see no cut in 10% baseline tariff on Indian exports announced by Trump on 2 April, it is learnt, but additional 26% tariffs are set to be reduced.
BJP has no dynastic succession, at least not at the top. You can trace this back to Vajpayee-Advani era. This act of spotting, empowering younger talent is even more striking with the choice of BJP presidents.
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