Political parties chalk out strategy for rural polls in Odisha

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Sep 4:

With the panchayat polls in Odisha due early next year, the major political parties in the state are getting into poll mode with the preparation of strategies to woo the constituents.

The ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) today held a closed-door meeting at the Naveen Niwas here, presided over by party supremo Naveen Patnaik, where leaders from five organisational districts participated in it.

Leaders, including observers, MP and MLAs, from Bhadrak, Balasore, Nuapada, Bolangir and Kalahandi attended the brainstorming session.

Party insiders said that the party president advised the members to bolster its presence at the grassroots level.

“Our party supremo advised us how to reach out to people at the grassroots level. We had assembled to chalk out the strategy for the panchayat polls scheduled to be held next year,” senior BJD leader Pushpendra Singh Deo said.

The ruling party is eyeing to capitalise on the success of welfare schemes launched in the state.

“After Naveen Patnaik took over as Chief Minister in 2000, there has been a significant development in the state. We will take the Mahanadi water dispute to the people of Odisha. We will highlight the social welfare schemes at the grassroots level,” Bolangir MP Kalikesh Singh Deo said.

The mainstream political parties have already begun parleys to counter their opponents in the upcoming polls.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday decided to field candidates across all panchayats and zilla parishad zones during its Election Management Committee meeting held here.

Notably, the saffron party last month had constituted a 16-member committee to oversee the poll-related activities. Further, the party had earlier announced that it will form ‘Power Centres’ across all panchayats in the state and ‘BJP Booth Committees’ at the village level to strengthen its base.

Similarly, Congress is also learnt to have formed a task force to finalise blueprint for the panchayat polls.