Congress seeks President's intervention in Orissa

Bhubaneswar, Mar 10 (ANI): The Congress on Tuesday sought the President's intervention in the trial of strength of the BJD government in Orissa.

The Campaign Committee Chairman of the State Congress Srikanta Jena also demanded the Election Commission's intervention, saying it was violative of the Model Code of Conduct.

"When the general election date has been announced and the code of conduct enforced there is no necessity to call the assembly and give an opportunity to the state government to prove its strength," Jena said in a statement.

"This is violation of the code of conduct as it is likely to influence the voters' mind," he added.

Jena has also demanded immediate resignation of the chief minister Naveen Patnaik.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) alliance in Orissa split over differences in seat-sharing on March 7.

Since 1998, the BJD has been contesting 84 Assembly and 12 Lok Sabha seats while BJP has fielded candidates in 63 Assembly and nine Lok Sabha constituencies.

The Orissa State Assembly polls will be held along with the general elections on April 16 and 23. (ANI)