BJP chief to attend women's wing meet on Sept 24 to galvanise

BJP president Amit Shah is slated to attend a meeting of party's women's wing at Puri on September 24 with an aim to galvanise the cadres for the upcoming assembly poll.

Announcing this here on Tuesday, Odisha BJP Mahila Morcha president Pravati Parida said Shah would formally inaugurate and address the three-day national executive meet of the party's women's wing in the seaside pilgrim town.

The BJP chief has on several occasions said that Odisha has been a priority state for them and also set a target for the party to win more than 120 of 147 assembly seats in the upcoming Odisha poll.

A host of senior leaders including union ministers, MPs and BJP's national Mahila Morcha President Vijaya Rahatkar are scheduled to attend the three-day programme beginning September 23, Parida said.

Shah's tour comes two days after the scheduled Odisha visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 22.

During his last visit to the state on July 1, Shah had advised BJP workers to strengthen the party base at the grassroots.

The BJP chief had exuded confidence that the party would sweep the next assembly polls in Odisha in view of the "dismal" performance of the BJD government in the state and achivements of BJP-led NDA at the centre.

To achieve the Mission 120 Plus, you have to work very hard to strengthen the party base at the grassroots, Shah had said.

During his visit, the Prime Minister is scheduled to inaugurate the newly built Jharsuguda airport in the state on September 22, said a BJP leader.

The state's second airport at Jgarsuguda has been built over area of 909.22 acres at a cost of Rs 175 crore of which the state government has contributed Rs 50 crore.

Modi is also slated to dedicate a new railway line of the Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL) between Jharsuguda and Sardega in Sundargarh district.

The railway line has been constructed at a cost of Rs 1044 crore to evacuate 100 million tonnes of coal from Basundhara Area of MCL in Hemgir block.

The Prime Minister will also dedicate two new coal mines in Sundargarh district.

Modi is also scheduled to lay the foundation stone for the renovation of the Talcher Fertiliser plant.

While the upcoming visits of two heavyweights are seen by BJP leaders as significant ahead of the general elections next year, leaders of ruling BJD and Congress claim it would have little impact on the voters in the state.

BJD spokesman Samir Ranjan Dash said the visits of Modi and Shah would not be able to dent the polularity and clean image of chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

Senior Congress leader N K Das said people of Odisha are not impressed with the BJP.