Congress to declare first list of candidates in Odisha soon

Congress is gearing up to declare its first list of candidates in Odisha for 2019 elections within 15 days, a senior party leader said on Sunday.

Stating this after a meeting of the newly constituted Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) here, AICC Odisha In-Charge Jitendra Singh said the names of at least 50 selected candidates would be initially announced.

He said a meeting of Pradesh Election Committee (PEC) is slated to be held tomorrow where the criteria of selecting candidates for next year's polls will be finalised.

Noting that the focus would be on rejuvenation of the party in Odisha, Singh said party workers and leaders would have to connect effectively with their respective booths.

Moreover, the performance of the newly formed PCC team would also be reviewed every month and steps would be taken accordingly to strengthen the party, he said.

The meeting of the PCC team was held to chalk out electoral strategies to strengthen the party right from the grassroots to the state level as per directives given by Congress president Rahul Gandhi.

In Odisha, elections for both Lok Sabha and state Assembly are scheduled to be held next year.

OPCC president Niranjan Patnaik, who chaired the meeting, said Congress has initiated effort to strengthen its base at grassroot level as well as to reach out to the voters at booth level and propagate party's ideology ahead of the general election.

Patnaik said Congress is going to embark on 'My booth, My pride' campaign throughout the state.

Accusing BJD and BJP of having joined hands to cheat people of Odisha, he said Congress will make people aware of the fact and tell them the truth.

The people of the state are facing numerous basic problems and this will be looked into, Patnaik said after the meeting.