Rairangpur/Baripada: In view of the party’s poor show in the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections in Mayurbhanj, the ruling BJD has been leaving no stone unturned to reclaim its lost ground in the district.
Since the state BJD leadership has assigned the task of reviving the party to Jajpur MLA Pranab Prakash Das, persistent efforts are on to consolidate the party base through meetings with disgruntled leaders. Das has recently been appointed observer of the party for the district.
He has already held two meetings at Baripada and Rairangpur to bring together the disgruntled party leaders.
Das again came to Baripada Thursday accompanied by former party observer of the district Sanjay Das Burma and assistant observer and MLA (Bhubaneswar, North) Sushant Rout.
The three leaders held a closed-door meeting with frontline leaders from Udala, Badasahi, Bangiriposi, Morada and Baripada in a hotel, Thursday. The meeting began at 12 am and ended at 5 pm. Das advised the leaders not to engage in factionalism but to consolidate the party base at the grassroots with united efforts.
Das along with Das Burma and Pratap Deb also held a closed-door meeting with frontline leaders from Karanjia, Rairangpur, Saraskana, and Jashipur at PCM Kalyan Mandap in Rairangpur Friday. The leaders discussed the selection of assistant returning officer to hold organisational elections in the coming days.
At the meeting, leaders like Revenue Minister Sudam Marndi, Morada MLA Rajkishore Das, former Balasore MP Rabindra Jena, former Assembly Speaker Sananda Marndi, BJD’s district unit president Debasish Mohanty, executive president of the district unit Debasish Marandi, district youth president Jitendra Mohanty, youth wing president for North Odisha zone Subramanyam Mohanty, former RS MP Birabhadra Singh, former MLA Ganeswar Patra, Srinath Soren, Bhadab Hansda and returning officer Krushnachandra Das brainstormed on the party’s revival strategies.
After the party handed over the organisational task of the district to party observer MLA Pranab Prakash Das, the latter has started brainstorming on how to reclaim the lost ground even as the ruling party has laid thrust on bringing about a turnaround in its organisational set-up.
The BJD has taken its organisational issue seriously after the BJP made inroads into its bastion in the last panchayat and Assembly elections.
Das has formed a four-member committee to set right the sagging organisational set up with Revenue Minister and Bangiriposi MLA Sudam Marndi, former Deputy Speaker of the Assembly Sananada marandi, Rajya Sabha Member Sarojini Hembram and party’s district unit executive president Debasish Marandi as members.
Political pundits say such hectic meetings are being organised with the civic body elections in sight.
The party stalwarts are well aware that the BJP has no grassroots footing in the district, but it cashed in on the infighting within the ruling party.
Minister Arun Sahoo was earlier the party observer for the district.
