BHUBANESWAR:
BJP president Amit Shah is in Odisha for a daylong tour Monday to fine-tune the party's strategies for next year's state assembly and Lok Sabha polls.
Amit Shah's visit comes two days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a rally in the state slammed Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for saying no to the Centre's flagship Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme and alleged corruption in the state government.
The BJP chief, who is scheduled to attend a women's wing meeting at the seaside town of Puri, was accorded a warm welcome on his arrival here by senior leaders, including Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan and the party's state unit chief Basant Panda.
"Reached Odisha, where I will be addressing the 'Mahila Samavesh', a sammelan of Mahila Shakti Kendra karyakartas and the BJP Mahila Morcha National Executive meeting in Puri (Odisha)," Mr Shah tweeted soon after his arrival.
With just a few months to go before the Odisha Assembly polls and the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP chief's visit has "spurred enthusiasm" among the party workers, particularly women, a saffron party member said.