SUNIT MISHRA, OP
Bhubaneswar: Newly appointed Odisha BJP in-charge D Purandeshwari and co-in-charge Swadesh Singh visited the state for the first time after assuming their responsibilities.
A key meeting was held at the BJP state office Saturday, attended by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, state president Manmohan Samal, state general secretary (organisation) Manas Mohanty, district in-charges, district presidents, morcha heads and state office-bearers.
Party leaders welcomed Purandeshwari and Singh with bouquets and traditional uttariyas before the meeting, which continued from about 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
According to leaders present at the meeting, Purandeshwari made several pointed remarks in her address.
She reportedly told the leaders that it would be wrong to believe the BJP came to power in the 2024 general election solely because of its own strength.
“No one in Odisha has won on their own,” she said, according to sources.
The BJP came to power because of strong public resentment against the then-ruling BJD government, anger among people toward V.K. Pandian and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity, she said.
Purandeshwari also said the BJP’s 2019 election performance in Odisha was possible because of the party’s own organisational strength.
If the government’s welfare programs are taken to the grassroots, the party can think of remaining in power for a long time, she said.
Otherwise, sustaining power for a long period would not be possible, she reportedly said. She also referred to controversy over errors in school textbooks.
According to her, there were only three factual errors in textbooks from Class 1 to Class 8, while the remaining issues were printing errors and typos.
The opposition, however, succeeded in portraying printing errors as mistakes and turned the issue into a narrative, she said.
The government eventually accepted, without adequate examination, that the textbooks contained errors, thereby making the opposition’s allegations appear credible to the public, Purandeshwari said.
At the meeting, BJP leaders from the party’s 37 organisational districts were asked to share their district-wise assessment of the likely results of the upcoming panchayat, municipal and student union elections.
Leaders from all districts presented their views.
The meeting also reviewed the functioning of the party’s four regular meetings held each month — mandal-level meetings in the first week, district-level meetings in the second week, panchayat-level meetings in the third week and booth meetings in the fourth week.
Party leaders discussed the progress of these meetings and were given suggestions to ensure they function effectively.
Purandeswari also directed party leaders to work diligently and ensure that the government’s achievements reach people at the grassroots level, sources said.