Bhubaneswar, Mar 17 : Breaking News! Shocked over the recent split with its 11-year-old alliance partner BJD, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) held a massive rally in Bhubaneswar to kick off its poll campaign from Orissa. The huge congregation of BJP workers across the state was called the "Vijay Sankalp Rally". The rally was addressed by senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj, Rajya Sabha MP Chandan Mitra and others. The BJP decided to use "betrayal" as the theme for the upcoming Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in Orissa.
Thousands of upbeat BJP workers attended the rally at PMG Square, Bhubaneswar this afternoon. Besides Sushma Swaraj and Chandan Mitra, state BJP leaders B Harichandan, Suresh Pujari and Dharmendra Pradhan also addressed the rally.
Interestingly, all BJP leaders criticised the Naveen Patnaik-led BJD government for its unilateral decision to break the 11-year-old alliance to grab power in the state. They also slammed the BJD government for forging alliances with parties like JMM, CPI and CMM.
Sushma Swaraj spoke in Oriya for a while, much to the delight of the huge crowd. She urged the people of Orissa to punish the BJD government and pledge their support to the BJP. She also ruled out any post-poll alliance with the BJD either at a state or at central level.
All BJP leaders talked about Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati's murder and Kandhamal violence. The promised to nab the killers of Swamiji, if comes to power. The BJP leader expressed surprise over the induction of some Christian leaders from Kandhamal into BJD, who allegedly defamed the Orissa government at the national and international level.
The Vijay Sankalp Rally organised by the BJP, boosted the morale of the party cadres and infused new enthusiasm into them. Now they are all set to fight for their pride, if not to win more seats.
