Bhubaneswar: Even as the formal announcement is still to come, the state is gearing up for the upcoming panchayat elections as all three leading political parties – Biju Janata Dal (BJD), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress – have kicked off their own public outreach activities.
The BJD Sunday launched its Jana Sampark Padayatra on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, highlighting the party’s ideology and development work undertaken by its government in the state.
With the aim of refurbishing the party’s image ahead of the rural polls, scheduled for February 2017, the BJD’s Jana Sampark Padayatra will continue for a month till November 2 unlike previous years when such an outreach took place for only 11 days.
To ensure public opinion in its favour, the party has also decided to take up several raging issues including the Polavaram and Mahanadi disputes during the padayatra.
On the other hand, the BJP state unit has launched its ‘Lajja Satyagraha’ in order to counter the BJD government.
During the campaign launched in all sub-divisions of the state, the saffron party has been raising issues such as Mahanadi, Polavaram, Nagada malnutrition deaths, Kandhamal killing, Dana Majhi episode among others. According to BJP leader Basant Panda the party aims to create wide public awareness against the ‘ineffectiveness’ of the BJD regime.
Even the Congress is leaving no stones unturned with its aggressive campaign. The party has planned its ‘Jan Chetna Yatra’ over Mahanadi issue in the state from the second week of October.
Orissa Pradesh Congress Committee Chief Prasad Harichandan said the yatra’s date will be finalised October 4.
The leading opposition party Sunday also decided to seek public views for preparing its panchayat election manifesto – a move that will keep the party connected with public for a long period, said its leaders. The party will seek suggestions from public through email for 10 days.
Hectic parleys to weed out internal differences and induction programmes to strengthen organisational cadre have also become a regular affair in all the three parties.
Sudarsan Maharana
Post News Network
