BJP president Amit Shah on Wednesday praised Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik, fuelling speculation that the repeat overture to a leader he had slammed earlier as “inefficient” was an attempt to humour a potential ally at the Centre. Patnaik, however, was the only Opposition leader he chose to refer to by name. The BJP chief had earlier likened the Patnaik government to a “burnt transformer” that should be thrown out and called the BJD dispensation “corrupt and inefficient” during the election campaign. Modi had last week showered praise on Patnaik for the systematic way he had prepared for Cyclone Fani that struck parts of Odisha this month. There has been an excellent coordination between the Centre and the state,” Modi had said after an aerial survey of cyclone-hit areas.

Source: The Telegraph May 15, 2019 23:37 UTC