Rahul Gandhi to visit Odisha on Jan 25: State Cong chief

After two back-to-back tours of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Odisha, Congress national president Rahul Gandhi is set to visit the state on January 25 to address a rally and attend a meeting of party workers.

State Congress chief Niranjan Patnaik said Monday that Gandhi is likely to speak at a public meeting in one of Odisha's coastal districts.

"Rahulji will address a public rally in a coastal district and attend a party workers' workshop in Bhubaneswar. The venue of the public meeting has not been finalized as yet," Patnaik, who met Gandhi in Delhi, told reporters there.

In a tweet, he also said that the national Congress president has discussed Odisha's poll strategy with him.

"It's always a pleasure and honour to meet Congress President Shri @RahulGandhi. Discussed the roadmap and poll strategy for Odisha and assured him of a solid comeback of Congress in our state. The Congress President will be visiting Odisha on Jan 25th," Patnaik tweeted.

Gandhi's visit assumes significance as Odisha is preparing for a twin elections to the state assembly and the Lok Sabha later this year.

The prime minister, who visited the state on December 24 and January 5, is scheduled to attend another public meeting at Bolangir next week.

BJP president Amit Shah is also set to visit Odisha on January 18 and attend booth level workers' meeting at Cuttack.