Bhubaneswar: Odisha chief minister and ruling BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik, in a series of tweets, has said that his party is not going to have election rallies or campaign meetings in the Pipili bypoll in view of the Covid-19 spread.

“In this extremely serious Covid-19 situation amidst surge in cases in the country, BJD Odisha has decided not to hold any.public rallies and campaign meetings in Pipili bypoll.”

“BJD as a responsible party will not like to put the lives of people in danger. We contest elections to serve people. If the campaign has potential to endanger lives, I would earnestly appeal political parties and ECI to reconsider both the duration & method of campaign.”