BJD Criticizes Odisha CM’s Rs.1,100 Crore Nuapada Projects Ahead of Election Code of Conduct
Bhubaneswar, Oct 7: The Biju Janata Dal (BJD), Odisha’s main opposition party, on Friday strongly criticized Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi’s visit to Nuapada, where projects worth Rs.1,100 crore were announced just hours before the imposition of the Election Code of Conduct.

Speaking at a joint press conference, BJD leaders including Vice President Sanjay Kumar Das Burma, Biju Mahila Janata Dal President Snehangini Chhuria, and Jaleswar MLA Ashwini Kumar Patra described the Chief Minister’s visit as “unfortunate” and politically motivated.

They highlighted pressing issues in other parts of the state, including unrest in Cuttack, recurring landslides in Gajapati, flood damage in five districts, and a Rs.200-crore Police SI recruitment scam that has shaken youth confidence. Das Burma remarked, “An unprecedented situation has emerged in Cuttack, the ‘city of brotherhood,’ under the double-engine government. The 1,000-year-old historic and cultural pride of Cuttack has been tarnished due to communal riots, reflecting the state government’s failure to control the crisis.”

Chhuria added that 108 projects worth Rs.64 crore, inaugurated by the Chief Minister, were actually constructed during former Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s tenure and merely re-inaugurated. She also criticized politically motivated moves, such as the removal and later reinstatement of Sinapali as a Notified Area Council (NAC) in the first-phase list, as well as programs like “Jhia Pain Gachha Tie” and the declaration of Nuapada as a Single Use Plastic Free District, which were initiated by the BJD in 2023 and 2019 respectively.

Patra further condemned the Chief Minister for prioritizing election campaigning over relief efforts, stating, “Despite widespread damage from continuous heavy rainfall in Northern Odisha, the Chief Minister has failed to address the situation seriously, which is deeply irresponsible.”

The BJD alleged that Nuapada has remained a focus of their party since its declaration as a district in 1993 by Biju Patnaik, and Majhi’s sudden visit ahead of the Nuapada Assembly bye-election is a politically motivated attempt to influence voters.