Odisha’s ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are all set to start preparing for the 2024 general as well as assembly elections in the state on Thursday with chief minister and BJD chief Naveen Patnaik addressing leaders of party’s frontal organisation and BJP national president JP Nadda addressing the booth level workers of the party.
Patnaik will meet the leaders of the party’s frontal organisations such as Biju Mahila Janata Dal, Biju Chhatra Janata Dal, Biju Yuva Janata Dal and the minority wing on Thursday and Friday at Bhubaneswar. Several panchayat-level functionaries, MLAs and MPs too would be part of the meeting where Patnaik is expected to give them tips on reaching out to people.
BJD leaders said Patnaik is likely to ask the party leaders to reach out to at least 10 families in a village to ensure the party’s success in the assembly and Lok Sabha polls. As part of the strategy, a member of the booth committee would be given charge of 10 families in a village. The family tagging system was tested successfully in the by-election to the Brajarajnagar assembly segment early this year.
The BJD has already started organisational restructuring with Patnaik appointing senior observers and revamping the youth, student and women wings. The party is also restarting its month-long Jan Sampark padyatra from October 2 on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti when its workers, MLAs, MPs and panchayat leaders will pledge to dedicate themselves to the development of the state. During the yatra, party members would celebrate the birth anniversaries of renowned social activist Gopabandhu Dash and Loknayak Jayaprakash Narayan on 9 and 11 respectively.
{{/usCountry}}The BJD has already started organisational restructuring with Patnaik appointing senior observers and revamping the youth, student and women wings. The party is also restarting its month-long Jan Sampark padyatra from October 2 on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti when its workers, MLAs, MPs and panchayat leaders will pledge to dedicate themselves to the development of the state. During the yatra, party members would celebrate the birth anniversaries of renowned social activist Gopabandhu Dash and Loknayak Jayaprakash Narayan on 9 and 11 respectively.
{{/usCountry}}The BJP, on the other hand, will hold a major public meeting of at least 30,000 Shakti kendra (booth level organisation) workers in Bhubaneswar on Thursday to be addressed by party president JP Nadda. Beginning with Union home minister Amit Shah’s visit to the state in August this year, the party has been trying to keep its cadres enthused with a flurry of visits by more than a dozen union ministers over the last month
Early this month, the party held a three-day training camp for all its MLAs, MPs as well as district officer bearers at Puri town where national general secretary(organisation) BL Santosh asked the state leaders to complete the unfinished task assigned by Amit Shah during his recent visit to the state.
Odisha BJP general secretary Golak Mohapatra said after addressing the shakti kendra workers on Thursday morning, Nadda will meet party MLAs, MPs, State functionaries, district presidents and in-charge of districts and the state. The next day he will address a joint conference of district-level functionaries of BJP’s seven frontal wings before returning to Delhi.
“We have been told that the booth-level organisation has to be strengthened to put up a challenge to BJD in 2024 polls. Unless that is done, it is futile to have any other strategy. The task is cut out for us and we have been told what all to do in the next one and half years,” said a BJP leader, who attended the Puri meeting.