Bhubaneswar: Hours after initiating a process for the election of its Odisha unit chief, BJP Sunday put it on hold in view of a stampede during the Rath Yatra festivities in Puri, a party leader said.
Three persons, including two women, were killed and over 50 others injured in the stampede near Shree Gundicha Temple early Sunday.
Balasore MP Pratap Chandra Sarangi, who has been appointed as the state returning officer for the party’s organisational poll, said that the election for both state president and national council members from Odisha has been “put on hold”.
An unfortunate incident took place in Puri, and three devotees lost their lives, and many others are undergoing treatment, Sarangi said.
“The last rites of the deceased have not been performed. Such a tragic incident has disturbed all of us. We express our deepest condolences to the families of the deceased devotees,” he said.
“In view of the stampede, the elections of the state president and national council members from Odisha, which were scheduled to be held July 1, have been put on hold,” he said.
Information about the election will be shared later, said Sarangi.
Earlier in the day, the MP said that the voting for the BJP’s organisational and the announcement of the party’s state unit president will be done July 1.
The party has also appointed Sanjay Jaiswal, an MP from Bihar, as the observer for the poll.
Now, everything has been put on hold until further announcement, Sarangi said.
PTI