The air-dashing by Naveen Patnaik to Mahakalpada to address a poll rally today and his call to the Bengali speaking Bangladeshi settlers not to vote for the BJP, has lent ample credence to the belief that the BJD supremo is locked in a proxy poll battle against arch political rival Bijoy Mohaptra.

It is the second time that MrPatnaik has addressed a rally in Mahakalpada. Earlie,  he had flown to the constituency on 2 April when campaigning for the first phase polling was at its peak.  
The chief minister warned the Bengali-speaking people that casting their votes in favor of the BJP would be detrimental to their interest. BJD is intent on safeguarding the safety, security and larger interest of migrant Bengali-speaking people who have settled in here since long, Patnaik said attending a political rally at Ramnagar village today.

The bonafide migrant settlers living here are encountering problems related to land settlement. Many of them are not having registered records of rights of the land they are in possession of. The BJD would take due care of it after it returns back to power, Patnaik said.   The constituency is home to about 29,000 registered Bengali-speaking voters spread across about seven gram panchayats of the assembly seat. With the ruling BJD  fighting hard to retain the seat, it blatantly wooed the Bangladeshi settlers and raked up sentiments against the BJP. Bengali-speaking villages would be deciding factor in the final outcome of the polls here.While Patnaik raked up the contentious ‘infiltration’ issue, he left it to the former minister Arabinda Dhali, a Bengali,  and BJD nominee Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak to launch diatribe on political opponents.

The BJP is hell bent on branding all the Bengali-speaking settlers as Bangladeshis. Quit India deportation Notice had been served upon 1551 bonafide citizens living here and they had been asked to pack their bags. It was the ploy and machination of BJP when the NDA was in power, they charged. |

Naveen Patnaik has taken vow to protect the Bengali-speaking people who are living here as Indian
citizens, BJD candidate Nayak said. Condemning such tactics, the BJP candidate Mohapatra said it is deplorable that the BJD president Naveen Patnaik has stooped to such a low.  It is clear that Naveen is scared, he remarked while pointing out that the local BJP unit had opposed the deportation move and had led the agitation here when notices were served to 1551 settlers.

Patnaik is trying to raise emotive issues which is dangerous for democracy, he is playing on the perceived insecurity amongst the settlers, noted Mohapatra.
He said the settlers will not get carried away by such gimmicks, they know that over the last 14 years Naveen Patnaik did nothing for them. They were not given land nor any steps taken for their protection. What prevented the BJD government to
provide nativity certificates to them, he asked.