Bhubaneswar: In the wake of his party’s relatively mediocre performance in the recently concluded Panchayat elections, Biju Janata Dal (BJD) supremo and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Sunday met the regional party’s newly elected PRI representatives at BJD headquarters here.
On the first day of the month-long review-cum-interaction meeting, Patnaik met the party’s elected representatives of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) from Koraput and Jajpur districts.
Patnaik spent nearly two-and-half hours at the party headquarters to take stock of BJD’s organisational strength in both districts.
The Chief Minister asked PRI members to reach out to masses and work towards fulfilling the promises they had made to people during the rural polls. He also accepted suggestions from these elected representatives to strengthen the party.
It is believed that Patnaik could not get satisfactory answers from BJD MLAs and district presidents regarding the party’s mediocre performance in the panchayat polls. So, he decided to meet party’s PRI representatives to accept their suggestions for strengthening the BJD ahead of 2019 Assembly and General Elections.
“The PRI representatives offered various suggestions that they wanted to be implemented for strengthening the party. I have asked them to work hard for the people,” Patnaik told media persons after the meeting.
Patnaik told the elected representatives to ensure that benefits of all public welfare schemes implemented by the BJD government in state reached people.
Sources said Patnaik informed the PRI members that once these meetings were over, he would convene another round of such meetings after six months to review the situation.
Apart from the PRI representatives, party’s top leaders, including MLAs and MPs from the two districts, were present at the meeting. Former Minister Rabi Nanda and MP Jhina Hikaka led the delegation of Koraput representatives while Energy Minister Pranab Parkash Das and MLAs Amar Satpathy, Priti Ranjan Ghadei and Pranab Kumar Balabantaray led representatives from Jajpur district. BJD vice-president Surya Narayan Patro also attended the meeting.
According to Patro, the BJD chief may pay surprise visits to random panchayats in the coming days to take stock of the developmental works.
Patnaik is scheduled to meet BJD PRI members of Mayurbhanj district Monday. The regional party’s performance was poor in the district as BJD lost the Zilla Parishad chairman’s post to the BJP.
The meeting will be crucial in the backdrop of the revelation made by BJD leader and veteran Oriya film star Uttam Mohanty about factionalism among leaders in Mayurbhanj district which resulted in the party’s poor show. Mohanty had joined BJD a few days ahead of the rural polls.
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