Bhubaneswar: BJP President Amit Shah on Tuesday praised the warriors of Paika’s rebellion in Odisha, who fought against the British when he launched the party’s base connection unit in the Ganjam district, hometown of Prime Minister Naveen Patnaik .
On his way to the Hugulapata area at Ganjam Shah, Shah had a brief stop at Khordha and paid floral tributes to the fighters of the Paika Rebellion of 1817.
“When the East India Company began to manipulate the income system in 1803, the farming community of Odisha rose in rebellion,” the BJP president said in a Twitter post.
“The great Rebellion of Paika in 1817 was directed by Bakshi Jagabandhu Paika Bakshi projecting Lord Jagannath as the symbol of Unity of Odia,” tweeted.
When launching the bases of the party, the exercise “Mo Booth Sabuthu Majboot” was connected, the BJP chief received receptions at various places during his trip from Bhubaneswar to Ganjam, the birthplace of Naveen Patnaik, who is also the president of the governorship Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in the state.
Shah was accompanied by senior BJP leaders such as Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and state party chairman Basant Panda. Shah Odisha’s three-day visit aims to expand the party’s base in the state before the 2019 elections.
It is scheduled to visit the Jajpur district on Wednesday to attend mass connection programs. On July 6, it is scheduled to attend similar programs in Khurda district. He also plans to meet with top party leaders and discuss strategies to further expand their Odisha base during their visit, where assembly elections are due to be held in 2019 along with Lok Sabha polls.
Shah’s visit is part of BJP’s strategy to strengthen the party in the state. Encouraged by his impressive performance in the panchayat elections in the state in February 2017, BJP is preparing to strengthen the party in Odisha.
