Naveen Patnaik hits the campaign trail

BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday  formally launched campaigning for the panchayat polls from Tangi, stressing the development plank. He addressed public meetings at as many as eight places.The meeting addressed at the Ramlila Ground at Tangi drew crowd as Naveen reeled out the names of the schemes launched by the State Government during the past several years for the development of villages. He mentioned about the construction of the village concrete roads started by the State Government.In a bid to assuage the women voters in the background of the public outcry over the Pipili gangrape case, which saw the exit of Agriculture Minister Pradeep Maharathy from the Cabinet, the Chief Minister referred to the steps initiated by the State Government for the betterment of women.Naveen addressed public meetings at Sorana, Banpur, Malipada, Bamalipur, Kantia, Bingarpur and Sishupalgarh. The theme of the speeches was almost identical in all the places highlighting development of villages and women.The Congress and the BJP are also not far behind in the campaigning. While State BJP president Jual Oram was busy campaigning in several villages of Sundargarh district, Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Niranjan Patnaik is expected to formally launch campaign within a day or two.The Opposition parties are taking advantage of the Pipili gangrape and other rape allegations, which have come to the fore during the last fortnight, to counter the BJD’s development plank. The issue of corruption is also being played up by the Opposition parties. Political observers believe that the growing instances of crime against women are turning into a major issue against the ruling BJD, at least in the coastal districts.Meanwhile, no nomination papers for posts of ward, sarpanch and panchayat samiti members were filed from 20 gram panchayats in Kashipur block of Rayagada district. The State Election Commission has fixed January 20 to 24 for filing of nominations from places from where no papers were filed in the first round.