New Delhi: Odisha Chief Minister and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) chief Naveen Patnaik on Monday lashed out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and termed his claim that the BJP will form a government in the state as “daydreaming”.

Patnaik would take oath as the chief minister of Odisha for the sixth consecutive time

“BJP has been daydreaming for many days,” Patnaik said in response to a question from his trusted aide and bureaucrat-turned-politician VK Pandian on BJP’s claims to form the government in the state after the 2024 Assembly polls.

In addition to Patnaik’s strong response, Pandian added, “Patnaik would take oath as the chief minister of Odisha for the sixth consecutive time between 11.30 am to 1.30 pm on June 9.”

The counter of BJD leaders came after the PM said that the days of the BJD government in Odisha were numbered as the people wanted a Chief Minister who understood the state’s culture.

Without mentioning BJD president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik by name, PM Modi took a potshot at his party’s former ally and said, “Odisha needs a Chief Minister who understands Odia language and culture.”

The PM’s remarks were made during a poll rally in Odisha’s Berhampur. He is spearheading the BJP’s campaign in the state, where Lok Sabha elections and assembly polls will be held simultaneously with the Lok Sabha polls.

“The BJP will form a double-engine government here after the ongoing elections. The expiry date of the BJD government is June 4, 2024,” PM Modi said at the Berhampur rally.

In his first public meeting in the state in years, PM Modi blamed the BJD and the Congress governments for the poverty in resource-rich Odisha, alleging that both the parties looted the state for decades.

The Assembly elections in Odisha will be held in four phases from May 13 to June 1 along with the Lok Sabha polls and the counting of votes will take place on June 3.