Odisha Congress lags behind BJD & BJP in poll preparation

While the list of star campaigners is yet to be finalised by the Congress, posters, banners and other materials are also in short supply.
Odisha Congress chief Niranjan Patnaik welcomes the PM in Bhubaneswar.
Odisha Congress chief Niranjan Patnaik welcomes the PM in Bhubaneswar.

BHUBANESWAR: Even as the ruling BJD and BJP have finalised preparation to launch campaign for the panchayat polls by announcing the list of star campaigners and releasing campaign materials, Congress seems to be far behind these two political parties.

While the list of star campaigners is yet to be finalised by the Congress, posters, banners and other materials related to electioneering are also in short supply. The election manifesto, likely to be released by the party, is reported to be in the draft stage.

Sources said Congress has chalked up a new plan for campaigning as part of which it would rope in victims of Nagada, Gumudumaha and Namtara to canvas for the party. However, the state leadership is yet to take a final call on the matter. The party has decided not to take the help of cine stars and other celebrities in the campaign.

The ruling BJD and BJP, however, have the names of several film personalities and celebrities in the list of their star campaigners. The warring factions in the party had closed ranks behind the president of the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) Prasad Harichandan at the Panchayat Election Committee (PEC) meeting held here on Tuesday and announced their cooperation for the poll efforts.

However, the delay in convening the meeting of the PEC on January 11, a day before filing of nomination papers started, and other campaign preparations is going to affect the performance of the party candidates as the ruling BJD is way ahead.

Meanwhile, ruling BJD, Congress and BJP have started distribution of tickets for the Zilla Parishad zones except for some seats where there are more than one contenders. The BJD is, however, facing problems for the sarpanch seats where more than one contenders are aspiring support from the party.

The ruling BJD has failed to resolve the problem despite intervention from the senior leaders and meetings at the district level. Factionalism in the BJD at the panchayat level is likely to have a serious impact on the party's performance in the polls.

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