It is on the lines of India Shining campaign undertaken by the NDA government
Is Odisha really shining or the Naveen Patnaik government trying hard to create a feel-good factor by launching an advertisement blitzkrieg ahead of the forthcoming panchayat polls?

Whatever be the truth, the advertisement campaign launched by the State government certainly tells an unusual story.

The advertisement campaign seems to have been undertaken by different departments of the State government to highlight various pro-people schemes with a clear intention to garner support in favour of the ruling Biju Janata Dal ahead of the polls scheduled to be held in February next.

A cursory look at the local newspapers during the past couple of days makes it clear enough that the advertisements are being released by the government just to highlight various welfare programmes without any reason, but to justify that the government has been doing a lot for the poor and deprived sections of society.

Full page ads
Several newspapers have been given three or four advertisements each on a daily basis during the past few days, all highlighting government schemes meant for different sections of society.

Many of these advertisements are full-page advertisements that would make any media house feel happy in terms of revenue generation. According to political analysts, the ongoing advertisement campaign, being carried out before the issuance of the notification for the panchayat elections that would bring the model code of conduct into force, is not only aimed at generating support for the ruling party ahead of the polls but also to refurbish the image of the government, which is being criticised for various scams.

It is a different matter that the opposition parties have so far not reacted to the issue or raised questions whether the government is right in releasing a series of advertisements using taxpayer's money for gaining political mileage.

But the number of advertisements released by various departments certainly reminds of the India Shining slogans of the erstwhile Atal Bihari Vajpayee government in which the BJD was a partner.

  • Political analysts see it as an attempt at image makeover by the BJD

  • Opposition parties are yet to react to the high-voltage campaign