Patnaik woos voters over phone

BHUBANESWAR - Engineering student Rupali Mohapatra was pleasantly surprised when she heard Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s voice on her phone. Campaigning in Orissa has gone high-tech, and Patnaik has taken the lead with pre-recorded calls to woo the electorate.

‘My phone rang and it was a Delhi number. When I took the call, I was surprised as it was the voice of Naveen Patnaik in Oriya,’ Mohapatra said.

‘Agyan Namaskar, Mu Naveen Patnaik kahuchhi (Namaskar, I am Naveen Patnaik speaking)’, is what Mohapatra heard. ‘He was describing how important the election is, and why we should vote for his BJD (Biju Janata Dal).’

BJD secretary general Damodar Rout said: ‘Patnaik is our star campaigner and it is impossible for him to reach everyone in the state. That’s why we have adopted this method of reaching out to people.’