Bhadrak: With the bypoll to the Dhamnagar Assembly constituency drawing closer, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have traded charges against each other, saying voters are being influenced with offer of money. The BJD Wednesday squarely dismissed the allegation of the BJP that the ruling party has engaged SHG women of Mission Shakti who are trying to buy votes by offering people money.
Notably, a couple of days ago, a video showing a woman with covered face distributing money to people went viral. The BJP took up the issue with the State Election Commission, accusing the ruling party of violating the model code of conduct.
On the other hand, the BJD members also accused the BJP workers of influencing voters with financial inducement in Dhamnagar during the electioneering. Addressing a presser in a hotel here, Rajya Sabha MP Manas Mangaraj, party’s observer for Bhadrak Pranab Balabantray, spokespersons Goutambuddha Das and Amit Mallick said that the BJP has been trying to defame the women of Mission Shakti by accusing them of influencing voters with money. “It is a baseless allegation against the women who will give a befitting reply to the BJP in the Dhamnagar bypoll.
The outcome of the bypoll will be a repeat of the Bijepur bypoll,” they said. They pointed out that the BJD government has carried out a lot of developmental works in Dhamnagar on the basis of which people of this Assembly segment will elect Abanti Das by a huge margin of votes. They also asserted that the BJP’s false propaganda will not work against the clean image of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. As for speculation of division of the BJD vote bank, they said that Rajendra Das will never be a factor to impact the voters.
