In what appears like a veiled attack on V.K. Pandian, a close aide of Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Bharatiya Janata Party national president J.P. Nadda, said the ground was being laid to make an “outsider” Mr. Patnaik’s successor in the State.
Addressing a public rally near Berhampur on Sunday, Mr. Nadda said, “there is an attempt to install an outsider as leader. Stay cautious.”
“Will a leader be imported from outside and imposed on Odisha? Will people not seek out a son of the soil as leader and prevent an outsider from taking the mantle?” he asked.
