BJP meets to chalk out Odisha roadmap

A day after clearing the decks for the induction of former chief minister Giridhar Gamang into the party's fold, the BJP's Odisha unit on Saturday met to chalk out the future roadmap for the party.

Eyeing the 2019 election, the state wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) held its core committee and programme implementation committee meetings to prepare a blueprint to strengthen the party from the grassroots level.

At the meetings, attended by several senior leaders including Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, it was decided to take up issues that affect the common man.

"We decided to raise the failure of the Naveen Patnaik-led Odisha government and highlight the achievements of the Narendra Modi government at the Centre for the past one year," said Arun Singh, unit in-charge.

The party has plans to poach leaders from other political parties to strengthen its base.

"There are many leaders in other political parties who are ignored by their party leadership. They are feeling suffocated. If they want to join BJP, we would welcome them," said senior leader Bijay Mohapatra.

While several leaders of Congress and BJD have joined the party recently, the latest entrant was tribal leader and nine-time MP of the Congress, Giridhar Gamang.

It was also decided to hold a meeting of MP and MLA candidates who had contested the 2014 election on June 18.

"After the meeting, we will start our 'Mahasampark Abhiyan' from June 23 to July 6 to reach out to the people across the state," said party spokesperson Sameer Mohanty.