Bhubaneswar, May 30: Even though BJD supremo and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik stated that VK Pandian is not his successor, the people of Odisha are not ready to buy this contention of the Chief Minister when the Parliamentary and State Assembly elections are in their last leg of voting, according to analysts.

"The Chief Minister has stated this after facing protests from different sections. Pandian has in many ways said that he is the successor to CM Naveen," said Pramod Rath, a senior leader of the BJP.

He wanted to know why only CM Naveen and VK Pandian were campaigning for BJD candidates when 40 leaders had been enlisted as star campaigners of the ruling party.

"It is commonly seen that Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has addressed very few meetings, while Pandian is campaigning massively for the BJD. Why only two people are campaigning when 40 leaders have been named BJD's star campaigners? It all indicates that Pandian is the successor of Naveen Patnaik," said Rath.

BJP State spokesperson Anil Biswal said the Chief Minister's contention is a conspiracy to hoodwink people of the State ahead of the last leg of voting.

"The BJD chief and Chief Minister has said Pandian is not his successor only to woo the voters. He is in the fear of losing the election battle," pointed out Biswal.

Biswal said people have already understood that Pandian will be the successor of Naveen Patnaik through the backdoor, and they don't support the idea.

Notably, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik told a news agency in an interview that Pandian is not his successor and people of Odisha will choose his successor in coming days.

It may be noted that the BJP has been protesting Pandian taking over Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in disguise.

While Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared publicly that BJD's expiry date is June 4 and BJP would form the new government on June 10 with an Odisha-born leader as CM, the party's national and State leaders have been raising the 'non-Odia CM' issue at public meetings and the national media.

People have been discussing the issue widely, opining that they would never accept a non-Odia as the CM of Odisha.

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