Bhubaneswar: BJP national president Nitin Nabin Monday chaired a meeting of the party’s core committee in Odisha and discussed its strategies for the next year’s rural polls and possible expansion of the council of ministers in the state, party sources said.
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Deputy CMs KV Singh Deo and Pravati Parida, Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Odisha BJP president Manmohan Samal and its national vice-president Baijayant Panda attended the closed-door meeting that began at 8.30 am at the party’s state headquarters here.
BJP MPs Sambit Patra and Pratap Sarangi, and the party’s Odisha in-charge Vijay Pal Singh Tomar, co-in-charge Lata Usendi and other senior leaders also participated in the meeting.
The national president discussed the party’s strategies for panchayat polls next year, possible expansion of the council of ministers, and appointments of party leaders in different boards and corporations, and other issues, a BJP source said.
After the meeting, Sarangi said, The core committee also discussed the BJP’s ideology and how to maintain it when the party is in power in the state.
Nabin, who arrived Sunday night on his first visit to Odisha after he became the party president, is also scheduled to hold a series of organisational meetings, training programmes, and strategic dialogues with senior party leaders and office-bearers in Bhubaneswar and Puri.
Samal said Nabin’s visit is considered politically significant as it will infuse energy among the grassroots-level workers and leaders.
During the day, Nabin is also scheduled to visit the Lord Jagannath temple in Puri. He will partake of the sacred ‘Mahaprasad’ at the residence of Puri Lok Sabha MP and BJP’s national spokesperson, Sambit Patra.
Upon returning to Bhubaneswar, Nabin will meet state office bearers and frontal unit presidents at 4 pm. He will also chair a meeting with members of the council of ministers of Odisha, another BJP source said.
He is scheduled to return to Delhi Monday evening, he added.