Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik, who termed BJP leaders coming to the state as political tourists, on Saturday asked them to concentrate on the development of their states instead of campaigning here.

Taking a dig at the central ministers and the chief ministers, who are visiting Odisha for campaigns, Naveen, in a video message, said: "Bhartiya Janata Party’s chief ministers and central ministers are coming to Odisha and promising to make it the number one state in India. I think they should concentrate on their own states first.” The video was released to the media on Saturday.

Targeting Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Naveen said: “The Assam chief minister, who has just been here, also promised to make Odisha the number one. His per capita state deficit is double that of Odisha. He should really look into matters of his own state. The people of Odisha are laughing at them.”

Sarma earned Naveen's wrath after he shared a speech on social media, in which he was seen targeting Naveen’s close aide and BJD’s chief strategist V.K. Pandian. He was seen saying: “After the elections, I appeal to people to collect funds to buy a plane ticket to send Pandian to Tamil Nadu on June 11 with full respect and honour. This is necessary to protect the pride of Odisha.”

Besides Sarma, Chhattisgarh chief minister Vishnu Deo Sai and former chief minister of Tripura Biplab Kumar Deb already campaigned for the BJP in Odisha. Besides the chief ministers and some central ministers, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, are visiting Odisha for campaigning. Modi is scheduled to attend a roadshow in Puri on Monday. Prior to the roadshow, Modi will visit Jagannath temple and seek the blessings of Lord Jagannath. Also, he is scheduled to attend public meetings in Angul and Cuttack.

Earlier, Naveen also termed the BJP’s claim of coming back to power as a “daydream” and made it clear that they won’t be able to come back to power in the next 10 years in Odisha.

On Friday, Naveen said this time there are some chief ministers and Union ministers, who come as political tourists only at the time of elections and then they disappear. “Their speeches have no effect on the people of Odisha. And it’s most unfortunate that many of them use derogatory and abusive language. I never believe in doing that and the people don’t, here in our state, appreciate such language,” Naveen said.