BJP leaders of Orissa are anxiously waiting to welcome Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi who is scheduled to arrive here on Tuesday morning.
From Bhubaneswar, Mr Modi will proceed to Puri, nearly 65 km from here, “to seek blessings of Lord Jagannath.”
“All the BJP leaders of the state are eagerly waiting for Modiji. All the senior leaders will accompany him to Puri where he will offer prayers before Lord Jagannath, meet Sankaracharya and Gajapati king Divyasingha Dev,” state BJP president Kanak Vardhan Singhdeo said on Monday. Stating that the one trip of the Gujarat CM was purely “personal tour,” Mr Singhdeo said nothing more should be read into it.”
While admitting that Mr Modi will have a brief interaction with BJP state executive members during his launch hour in a hotel in the pilgrim city, Mr Singhdeo ruled out possibility of any political discussion.
BJP national general secretary and Rajya Sabha member Dharmendra Pradhan, however, hinted about the party’s inner desire to score a few political brownie points out of what is being depicted as “private” visit.
“Modi is coming to seek Lord Jagannath’s blessings for good governance and betterment of the countrymen,” said Mr Pradhan.