Senior BJP leader and Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan Wednesday strongly opposed the move by Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for postponment of polls in Patkura assembly constituency in view of the impending Cyclone Fani.
Pradhan met the Election Commission in Delhi during the day and urged it not to postpone the polls in Patkura seat as the cyclone is likely to hit somewhere in Puri district, about 150 km away.
"The chief minister in his letter to the EC has mentioned that the cyclone is likely to hit Rajnagar block in Kendrapara district. This is not correct. The cyclone is likely to hit Krushna Prasad block under Brahmagiri assembly segment, which is 150 km from Patkura," Pradhan said in a statement.
Stating that there is no justification to postpone the polls in Patkura, which is scheduled to be held on May 19 which will be about 15 days after the cyclone's possible land fall in the state, Pradhan said "The EC has assured me that it will take right decision .
