Naveen Patnaik and (above) Rahul Gandhi

Bhubaneswar, March 4: Chief minister Naveen Patnaik today said AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi’s visit to the state would hardly have any impact on the electorate.

“People often visit Orissa. I foresee a positive response to BJD and alliance partner BJP in the coming polls,” Naveen, also the BJD chief, said on Rahul’s ensuing visit to the state. The BJD-BJP alliance has been ruling Orissa since 2000 and the coalition government is in power for the second term.

As the senior leader pointed out, his party has won the highest number of seats in the panchayat and civic polls in the past, besides winning all Assembly bypolls during the past eight years.

“I learnt about his (Rahul) visit from newspapers. I know that he is scheduled to start his tour from the KBK region. I hope he will see for himself the requirements of the region and why we demand what we demand from the Centre,” he said.

Quizzed about the safety aspects of Rahul’s visit, the BJD chief said everyone was “free” to travel in Orissa and if there were any security concerns it would be “looked into”. Rahul is scheduled to launch his Discovery India journey from Kalahandi in Orissa on March 7. He will cover 13 districts, including the backward districts, during his four-day visit.

Naveen, who returned from New Delhi today after a five-day visit, parried questions on the possibility of an early poll.

“Let’s wait and watch. We are waiting for the New Delhi reports,” he added.

On the BJD’s candidate for the coming Rajya Sabha polls (on March 26), the party chief said: “There is still time for filing the nominations. I will discuss the matter with leaders and the party will take a decision soon.” Naveen added that the BJD would have two nominees for the four vacant posts from Orissa.

When his attention was drawn to allegations made by Christian organisations on how Khandhamal victims were being “ostracised”, the chief minister said: “Judicial inquiry into the clashes has begun. Justice Panigrahi is in Kandhamal now.”