Ahead of 2024 polls, BJD and BJP to hold major organisational meetings on Thursday

BJD chief and chief minister Naveen 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

Published on: Sep 27, 2022, 22:47:25 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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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.

Odisha chief minister Naveen 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 (HT File Photo/Bhushan Koyande)

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.

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.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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