Berhampur, the ‘lucky ground’ of PM Modi awaits for his Sept. 27 visit

Berhampur has acquired a symbolic significance for the BJP. It was from this southern Odisha city that Modi launched his high-voltage campaign on May 6, 2024—an election that dramatically altered the state’s political landscape.

By Nalini Sahu

Bhubaneswar, Sept. 13: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to visit Berhampur in Odisha’s Ganjam district on September 27 to address a public rally as part of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Seva Paksha programme.

Berhampur has acquired a symbolic significance for the BJP. It was from this southern Odisha city that Modi launched his high-voltage campaign on May 6, 2024—an election that dramatically altered the state’s political landscape. Once regarded as an impregnable bastion of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s Biju Janata Dal (BJD), Ganjam district saw the regional party retaining only one Assembly seat in the polls.

Patnaik himself held on to his home constituency, Hinjili, but by a razor-thin margin of 4,636 votes against BJP challenger Sisir Kumar Mishra. The BJD also lost its grip on the Berhampur and Aska Lok Sabha constituencies, both swept by the BJP. These gains helped the saffron party secure 20 of Odisha’s 21 parliamentary seats—offsetting setbacks in the Hindi heartland and cementing its presence in the east.

Modi’s Berhampur launch was followed by a series of rallies that eventually culminated in the BJP ending the BJD’s uninterrupted 24-year rule in Odisha.

“We are quite excited about the Prime Minister’s return to Berhampur,” said state steel and mines minister Bibhuti Bhusan Jena, who represents the Gopalpur Assembly seat in Ganjam.

“It was here that he declared the expiry date of Naveen Patnaik’s rule and predicted a thumping BJP victory. His words proved prophetic. The PM also initiated the state’s development process from this very place. His forthcoming visit will give fresh momentum to growth in Ganjam and across Odisha.”

Observed annually to mark Modi’s birthday, Seva Paksha is centred on social service and welfare initiatives. Party sources said large-scale blood donation camps, health check-ups, sanitation drives and community outreach programmes are being lined up in Odisha. Modi’s presence in Berhampur, they added, is expected to amplify these efforts and strengthen the BJP’s grassroots connect.