BIJEPUR: Earlier this month during a rally at Bhograi in Balasore district, eggs were hurled at Naveen Patnaik . He was then just a minute into his speech, but cut short his address and left in a huff. On Tuesday, the chief minister was at the receiving end of another attack - only this time the eggs had given way to a pair of chappals - while he was readying to address a gathering at Kumbhari village in poll-bound Bijepur. Here, too, he paused and left, without making his speech. But unlike last time, he did not return to Bhubaneswar, but made a brief stopover at a nearby village on way to another rally venue.The villagers of Mahada near Barpali township could not believe their luck as they saw the chief minister approaching, with folded hands. Known to be reticent at the best of times, this was a different Naveen they were seeing. The villagers also reciprocated his gesture with an outpouring of love and affection.It continued on Wednesday as well with Naveen greeting people with a 'juhar' (traditional greeting in Sambalpuri language), as he made an emotional pitch for BJD candidate Rita Sahu during meetings in Gaisilat and Bijepur blocks.At Kalangapali village in Gaisilat, Naveen assured voters that he would "personally" supervise development in Bijepur which goes to polls on Saturday to find a replacement for Subal Sahu, who passed away last August. "I will bring a new identity to Bijepur," promised Naveen while Subal's wife stood by his side, wiping her tears.

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